Male students are spending almost as much on gambling as on their weekly groceries

More than one in six students who gamble is in the ‘problem gambling category’, four times higher than the general population, according to new research.

The fourth Annual Student Gambling Survey, commissioned by GAMSTOP and Ygam, found that 17% were designated at high risk and 29% at moderate risk of gambling harm, using the threeitem Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI). Male students are more likely than females to be in the problem gambling category and their mean spend on gambling is almost 1.7 times higher.

Male students who gamble are spending almost as much on their gambling as on the weekly food shop. Men’s mean spend on gambling is £33.54 per week – this compares to £36 per week on groceries, according to the most recent National Student Money Survey (2024). Almost one in ten of all student gamblers spend between £51-£100 per week on gambling – significantly more than their average weekly food shop.

One in four male students (25%) take part in online sports betting, the most popular form of gambling amongst students, and male students bet on online sports an average 91 days of the year – that equates to every other working day in an average university term.

Neary one in two students (45%) say they gamble ‘to make money’, rising to 50% amongst male students. However, the reality is different – whilst one in five claim to make money from gambling, a much higher proportion (40%) say it has affected their university experience and one in ten have struggled to afford food. And 17% are using their student loan to fund gambling.

Peer pressure appears to be a driving force for gambling – nearly one in three students who gamble say they are influenced by friends, whilst one in four cite social media. Almost one in ten are influenced by university societies – almost as significant a factor as advertising, cited by 13%.

However, more than one in two students (53%) say they are aware of support available at their university for problems with their gambling and 59% of students who gamble say they would be confident about accessing support.

The Student Gambling Survey, conducted by Censuswide, is the most comprehensive of its kind, involving 2,000 students from universities near 17 UK cities, with 49% reporting having gambled at least once in the previous 12 months. Other findings include:

• 21% of students have invested in cryptocurrency during the last 12 months. Males were more than twice as likely to have invested in cryptocurrency as females.
• 66% of students who play video games had paid for a random chance purchase in the past – one in two agreed that random chance purchases were gambling, but one in five disagreed, highlighting a need for more education about the risks of gambling-like features in video games.
• 23% of Asian student gamblers were found to experience ‘problem gambling’ according to the short-form PGSI, while low and moderate risk gambling were also elevated at 20% and 36% respectively.

The report makes four key recommendations:

1.  More targeted prevention education, taking into consideration cultural differences to better meet the needs of students from BAME backgrounds.
2. Universities should make gambling harm prevention and support an integral part of their strategies to improve student health and wellbeing, upskilling staff and doing more to communicate the availability of support.
3. More education about the risks relating to in-game purchases in video games and their similarities and differences with regulated gambling products.
4. Further research, including investigating the discrepancy between students’ motivation for gambling and the amount they spend gambling in a typical week.

As part of National Student Money Week, Ygam has teamed up with NUS Charity, the charitable arm of the National Union of Students (NUS) in the UK, to launch a new university campaign encouraging students to look out for signs of gambling harm in their peers and start conversations to raise awareness. The Silence the Stigma campaign will be launched at Queen Mary University of London on 6th March.

Fiona Palmer, Chief Executive Officer at GAMSTOP, said: “The Student Gambling Survey is an important piece of research that confirms the need for targeted support for the student community. Although gambling has decreased slightly in universities, the risk of gambling harm is far higher than in the general population and students need to be educated about the consequences of gambling in the expectation of making money. We know from the university roadshows we run with Ygam that there is an appetite amongst students to learn more about the support available, which includes self-exclusion to take a break from gambling”.

Dr Jane Rigbye, Chief Executive Officer at Ygam, said: “Ygam is now working with universities in every region of the UK, and while we welcome the decrease in the number of students experiencing gambling-related harms, students remain a cohort that engages in gambling in significant numbers. This makes our collaboration with universities essential to ensuring they have the tools to effectively support and safeguard students. It is important to recognise trends and understand the factors influencing these behaviours, including economic and social pressures. With much of student life now digital and online, we must continue to guide and educate to increase understanding and build resilience against the potential harms of gambling.”