2016 Northern Ireland Gambling Prevalence Survey published

Date published: 3 May 2017

The purpose of the survey was to examine the trends and attitudes towards gambling in Northern Ireland.

The main findings of the survey are:

• Just over two thirds of respondents (67.2%) said they had gambled in the last 12 months. This is a decrease since the 2010 survey (79.8%).
• When compared to other regions of the United Kingdom, the level of participation in gambling in Northern Ireland is higher than the rates in England (62.0%) and Wales (61.3%), but similar to the most recent participation rate for Scotland (67.8%).
• Most respondents (86.1%) from the 2016 survey were considered to be ‘non-problem gamblers’ based on their Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) score. However, almost one in 14 respondents were considered to be either a ‘moderate risk gambler’ (4.9%) or ‘problem gambler’ (2.3%).
• The rate of problem gambling (2.3%) is broadly at the same levels as the 2010 survey (2.6%), with no statistically significant difference.
• Compared to other regions of the United Kingdom, the proportion of the population found to be 'problem gamblers' is higher in Northern Ireland (2.3%) than in Wales (1.1%), Scotland (0.7%) and England (0.5%).
• The majority of respondents’ attitudes to gambling are unfavourable. However, there has been increase in favourable attitudes, with a third (33.3%) holding this attitude compared to just over a quarter (26.7%) in 2010.
• The report identified the four most common types of gambling in Northern Ireland to be ‘National Lottery’, ‘scratchcards or instant win’, ‘betting on an event or sport’ and ‘other lottery, raffle and ballot’.

The report can be accessed on the DfC website. Alternatively, the contact for accessing a hard copy of the report would be: Analytical Services Unit asu@communities-ni.gov.uk or telephone 02890829255