Nearly half of student gamblers are gambling more than they can afford

Today we’ve published the latest Annual Student Gambling Survey, now in its fifth year. Jointly commissioned with our partners [Ygam](https://ygam.org/), the survey gathers insights from 2,000 university students across the UK. Alongside this, we’ve published a five-year trend analysis, covering over 10,000 students, to understand how student gambling behaviour is evolving. Key findings: - 65% of university students have gambled in the past 12 months, rising to 75% among male students. - Average weekly gambling spend has almost doubled, from £27.24 to £50.33. - 34% of students who gamble say social media is a key influence. - 46% of student gamblers report that gambling has negatively affected their university experience. - Over the past five years, gambling among students has fallen from 78% to 65%, and the proportion experiencing harms has decreased from 24% to 18%. To read the press release and reports [click here](https://ygam.org/news/university-students-who-gamble-are-losing-an-average-of-53-a-week/) These findings show that students remain particularly vulnerable to gambling harms. By working with Ygam, universities and student unions can access training, tools, and resources to safeguard students and address gambling harms.

Last week, our Chief Marketing Officer, Katie Reynolds-Jones attended both the London Gambling Harms Conference and GamCare’s Parliamentary Reception. These events provided valuable opportunities to meet colleagues from across the sector and engage in meaningful conversations about our shared commitment to reducing gambling harm. Thank you to Betknowmore UK and GamCare for inviting us to be part of these important discussions. The conversations throughout the week offered valuable insight and reaffirmed the importance of collaboration in strengthening protections for those most at risk.

Registrations from young adults continued to rise in the second half of 2025, with a 40% year‑on‑year increase in 16–24 year olds signing up to self‑exclude. This age group accounted for 29% of all new registrations, indicating growing early engagement with self‑exclusion tools. Across all users, five‑year exclusions remained the most popular, selected by 47% of registrants. The 5 years with auto‑renewal option, introduced in late 2024, also saw increasing uptake, and in December 2025 more than half of those choosing a minimum five‑year exclusion opted for auto‑renewal. At the end of 2025, over 562,000 people were actively excluded through Gamstop Online, with 58,675 registrations recorded in the final six months of the year. Fiona Palmer, CEO of The Gamstop Group, said: “Our brand refresh reflects the evolution of Gamstop and will deliver clarity, consistency and accessibility while preserving the trust and integrity built over the last eight years. The continued growth in registrations highlights the increasing need for effective self‑exclusion tools, and the rise in auto‑renewal shows that many consumers are seeking longer‑term support.”

After 7 years of operation, GAMSTOP is getting a new look and feel – the scheme will now be known as Gamstop Online. As part of this rebrand, the Gamstop Online website has been refreshed with a modern and accessible design. Gamstop stories are now more visible across the site after user research found that these were particularly impactful – the redesign also features more signposting to additional support services. This redesign will __not__ impact any existing registrations with Gamstop Online. Gamstop Group CEO Fiona Palmer said: *“Our brand refresh reflects the evolution of Gamstop and will deliver clarity, consistency and accessibility while preserving the trust and equity built over the last seven years since we launched.”*