The Gambling Survey Great Britain has published its latest findings, reporting a problem gambling rate of 2.4% among adults across the UK for 2025.
This marks the third edition of the GSGB, following the inaugural publication in July 2024 and a second release the year after.
The survey is based on responses from around 20,000 adults each year, giving it one of the largest sample sizes of any gambling prevalence study in Britain.
Despite its scale, the GSGB has attracted sustained criticism over its methodological approach, with claims of sampling bias levelled at the regulator repeatedly since the survey launched.
Professor Patrick Sturgis of the London School of Economics published an independent review of the first GSGB in 2024, raising significant concerns about the composition of its participant pool.
His review found that participants may have included a higher proportion of gamblers than is representative of the wider British population, potentially inflating problem gambling statistics.
The Gambling Commission responded to those concerns by committing in August 2025 to implementing some of Professor Sturgis’ recommendations, signalling a willingness to refine its approach.
The current report is described as having been independently reviewed by Professor Sturgis, who concluded that moving to this methodology was the correct decision given the changing survey landscape.
A notable discrepancy exists between the GSGB findings and NHS Health Survey figures, with the GSGB reporting that 2.7% of participants score eight or higher on the Problem Gambling Severity Index.
The Gambling Commission has directly addressed this gap, stating: “The GSGB and previous NHS-led surveys use different methodologies and should not be treated as directly comparable.”
The regulator has encouraged policymakers to consider the GSGB alongside other evidence rather than treating any single source as the definitive measure of gambling harm.
Critics have argued that the methodology undermines the reliability of the data, a charge the Gambling Commission has pushed back on firmly and publicly.
The Commission told news outlets that it does “not recognise” claims that it is about to knowingly publish inaccurate results, maintaining confidence in the survey’s design and execution.
The debate over methodology carries significant real-world implications, as problem gambling rates directly inform regulatory decisions, advertising rules, and affordability checks across the industry.
With the third edition now published, pressure is likely to grow on the Gambling Commission to demonstrate that the refinements made in response to Professor Sturgis’ recommendations have produced more reliable and representative results.
