65% of university students have gambled in the past 12 months, rising to 75% among male students.
30th March 2026
Today we’ve published the latest Annual Student Gambling Survey, now in its fifth year. Jointly commissioned with our partners Ygam, 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:
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65% of university students have gambled in the past 12 months, rising to 75% among male students.
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Nearly 1 in 5 students (18%) are experiencing gambling harms.
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Average weekly gambling spend has almost doubled, from £27.24 to £50.33.
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34% of students who gamble say social media is a key influence.
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46% of student gamblers report that gambling has negatively affected their university experience.
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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
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.
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