Statistics from Public Health England have revealed the true extent of problem gambling in the UK.
Their recently released 2019 to 2020 figures show the cost of gambling harm to UK taxpayers, the reasons for gambling, and the demographics of problem gamblers. Their key findings include:
- Gambling addiction is estimated to cost the UK Government up to £1.2 billion per year
- 7% of gamblers said they did so as a way to “earn money to get by day-to-day”
- 15% of online gamblers have been gambling in the workplace. This could lead to disciplinary actions or even dismissal.
- 55% of gamblers are male, 45% are female.
- People with mental health issues were found to be twice as likely to be a problem gambler than those without a mental health condition.
- Suicide was found to be the biggest single expense. Public Health England classified this as an ‘intangible‘ cost of gambling, meaning they attempted to estimate the value of human life to our society. This works out at about £1.5million per life.
You can find much more information in the full report.
