Yet another Gambling Survey of Great Britain under the new and controversial claculation model shows in-person participation still down since the pandemic, and online participation still up. Reflecting the same trends as the more reliable former survey process, the playing field was massively unleveled in 2019 and the Gambling Commission still hasn’t thrown its weight behind leveling it up – much to the detriment of Britain’s high streets and seaside promenades.

In-person participation in gambling, excluding lottery-only players, has not changed over the last two years, according to the latest Gambling Survey of Great Britain, with the figure down by 24 percent since Covid began.

The second wave of  year 2 (2024) of the newly invented GSGB  by the Gambling Commission – yes, make sense of that in the filing cabinet –  shows total participation in gambling remains stable at 48 percent, or at 28 percent excluding lottery-only players. In-person participation remains unchanged at 29 percent, or 18 percent excluding lottery-only players, whilst online continues to hover at 37 percent, or 17 percent excluding lottery-only players. A total of 4 percent of those surveyed had played on gaming machines in the last four weeks, the same figure recorded in the first wave of statistics at the start of 2023.

The pattern and direction of travel is the same as before  the Commission decided to change the information gathering methodology for gambling behaviour.  The out of control rise of gambling activity in the UK, which dominates the popular narrative, is struggling to match the data.

The highlights, according to the Commission were: “The most popular gambling activities (in the past 4 weeks) were lotteries, including National Lottery draws (31 percent) and other charity lottery draws (16 percent). Following lotteries, the next 3 most popular activities were scratchcards (12 percent), betting (12 percent) and online instant win.”

The highlights, not highlighted in the regulator’s commentary spiel, is that 81 percent of people contacted didn’t want to participate and ignored the Commission’s contact. That left just 3,181 participants – less it’s understood than the previous GSGB survey. And the problem here is that the 17 percent of people that did take part are – as critics keep warning – skews the findings.

Dig deeper, a mere circa 150 people aged 18-24 responded;  whilst 300 wrinklies over 75 did tale part.  Probably not a good representation.

Make no mistake, the GSGB is a statistician’s fun palace. The Commission is correct, there’s plenty of data there. But it comes from such a small base, a slightly biased core and not barely representative of the player base.

For example, only 63 people out of 3,181 who replied and almost 19,000 actually contacted played a fruity or a slot in person; 90 played bingo at a club;  60  went to a casino; 120 went to a bookies;  nearly 1,200 people went to the supermarket or newsagent bought a lottery ticket or scratchcard.

So why hasn’t in-person gambling participation bounced back to pre-pandemic levels? As lockdowns ended and restrictions were phased out, land-based entertainment businesses around the world opened up with innovative new products at increased but competitive prices to take advantage of pent-up demand. That is,  of course, those land-based businesses not under the regulatory purgatory of the Commission, where technical standards never change and stakes and prices never increase, despite record levels of inflation.

The only gambling activity the regulator appears interested in championing is the lottery, but while it was the most popular activity, it was also the activity that players feel least positive about. This stat, not included in the Commission’s summary, is an awkward one for a regulator that often expresses its “pride” in the National Lottery whilst talking down the rest of the industry.

Players, however, feel the opposite, with the survey showing that that 79 percent of all gamblers feel positive about their experience with gambling, with the number rising to 82 percent when those who only play lotteries are removed from the equation.

While amusements didn’t make the leaderboard for participation, it’s likely to be a huge contributor to the positive feelings towards gambling due to its players primarily playing for entertainment, rather than to win millions. The Commission may see the lottery as its golden child, but it’s a sector that disappoints 99.9 percent of the Brits that play it. Meanwhile, amusements continue to be a quintessential part of the British experience, contributing greatly to Britain’s hard hit high streets and beloved seaside promenades. The regulator is rightly interested in preventing harm, but it should also promote joy – and meet its obligfation to support growth – and get behind those sectors that provide it.