YGAM joins GAMSTOP in studying gambling in UK university gambling, showing results for its latest 2024 research compared to the 2023 study. (Photo by Natthapon Ngamnithiporn on Vecteezy)
If you’re a university student, this info may hit close to home. A recent study on student gambling found tons still struggle with overspending and addiction. Not what stressed-out, broke kids need!
The research by charity YGAM and self-exclusion site GAMSTOP questioned 2,000 UK university students across 30 university campuses, so this study is purely focused on the UK gambling market. Over 60% admitted gambling in the past year. That’s better than 2021’s 71%…but still not a number to celebrate.
Why worry? Nearly half said gambling negatively affected their student life – we’re talking flunking exams, losing friends, going broke. According to the YGAM research, student gamblers lose an average of £ 35.25 a week, which amounts to £ 1,833 per year. Going above that figure, 15% were out of pocket £50 or more weekly, so we are talking over £ 1,833 per year. Many of these students rely on savings budgets to pay for their day-to-day university expenses. 32% admitted they were accessing their savings accounts to gamble online or bet on sports. Another said that 10% would beg their parents for cash, presumably to make up for the shortfall in other vital expenses like food after losing it gambling.
From these results, the YGAM research linked with the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) deems that 30% of students are at a ‘moderate risk’ of forming a gambling addiction habit. Another 21% have already hit ‘problem gambling’ territory, yet this is down from last year’s 24% figure.
Guys tended to blow money on sports betting, while girls stuck to the lottery, and over a third blamed friends for getting them hooked. I would say sports betting is likely down to peer pressure from fellow students egging each other on to place a bet to make sports games more exciting. Now, these forms of gambling entertainment are quite normal among youngsters. However, there will always be some students that take things too far.
Other stats in the report noted investment in cryptocurrency, and playing computer games. 78% of students play video games, while there has been a decrease in students investing in cryptocurrency coming down from 40% from last year’s report to 32% from this year’s report. I would say the crypto stats are based on market performance. Now cryptocurrency is on the rise again, especially with crypto ETFs now issued on the stock market, the number has likely jumped.
| Metric | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Gambling Participation | 71% | 60% |
| Average Weekly Loss per Student (£) | No Stats Mentioned | £35.25 |
| Percentage of Problem Gamblers | 24% | 21% |
| Percentage of Students Investing in Cryptocurrency | 40% | 32% |
| Percentage of Students Playing Video Games | No Stats Mentioned | 78% |
Source: YGAM – Student gamblers are gambling more
What are experts planning to reduce gambling harm among youngsters?
So what now? Experts say more gambling education and support specific to campuses is crucial. New UK laws like slot limits for under-25s online should help too. But universities need to directly tackle gambling culture head-on if they want less addicted, desperate students. What do you think—should gambling come with a health warning on campus?
A recent rule the UKGC brought in might help!
As most university students are under 26, the new rule covering online slots might help. We reported news on the £ 2.00 and £ 5.00 Online Slot Limits in the UK. This move will at least reduce the number of players under 25 who are betting more than £ 2.00 per spin on slots. However, this rule does not affect table games at this time. As for sports betting, the UKGC’s new affordability checks may prevent students from betting heavily on sports and eSports betting markets.
The YGAM report is not useful at this time
In my opinion, the White Paper consultations are still being processed. Hence, the results from the latest YGAM research are not exactly something we can use to determine how gambling affects university students over 18. On the other hand, this research will be great to use as a comparison in a follow-up study when the White Paper rules are in full use. Another study will tell us more how affordability checks and restrictions on slots have reduced the average weekly loss of £35.25.
Also, we are not talking big numbers here. I mean losing £35.25 per week, is 4 or 5 pints of beet in the British pub on the weekend. Those losing over £50.00 per week, again is not a substantial amount of money. Yet, we are talking talking about university students who generally speaking are living on a tight budget while they study. In my experience, students generally have a £100.00 budget per week for food and expenses – at least those who are not from wealthy families.
For a comparison of 2023’s survey, you can visit the YGAM – 2023 Annual Student Gambling Survey.
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