New research commissioned by GambleAware highlights how the use of celebrity fuels gambling amongst children and young people

• Children and young people across Great Britain are being exposed to gambling content at unprecedented levels, often through celebrities and influencers on popular social media platforms.
  
• 87% of children and young people who took part in a survey said they have been exposed to gambling content online, with more than one in six (16%) having seen content creators advertise gambling.¹
  
• A quarter (25%) of children and young people said they have been tempted to spend money gambling after seeing a celebrity gambling or advertising gambling. More than a third (36%) of boys aged 16-17 years old recalled taking part in gambling activities themselves after seeing a celebrity promoting or taking part in gambling.²
  
• More than half said they feel they have no control over the amount of gambling content they see online1, while almost four in five (78%) children agree that ‘nobody under the age of 18 should be exposed to content and advertising about gambling’.²
  
• GambleAware is calling for regulators to address the growing impact of digital platforms and influencer marketing in promoting gambling to young audiences

Children and young people across Great Britain are being exposed to gambling content at unprecedented levels, often through celebrities and influencers on popular social media platforms. This is according to findings from new reports released today by the charity GambleAware and compiled by Social Finance1 and Sherbert Research².

Researchers heard directly from children and young people aged 13 – 17 through surveys and focus groups in schools and found that 87% of those who took part had encountered gambling content online, with platforms like Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Kick playing a central role. One in six (16%) children and young people were also found to have seen content creators and influencers advertising gambling. Watching conversations around gambling was also reported, with almost one in five saying they saw influencers talking about their own gambling. 16% reported seeing content creators sharing links and sign up codes for gambling operators and 14% reported seeing them sharing tips and tricks on how to gamble.¹ 

One young person who took part in the research said: “I usually see stuff like this daily. I’m on TikTok every day and see something like that” [referring to a gambling advertisement by an influencer].¹
One young person, when asked what someone might have searched for to come across gambling adverts from an influencer said: “She might have not searched for anything in particular. It can just come up in your feed in general. This has happened to me a few times.”  

79% of young people said there should be more rules around gambling content and advertising on social media, and 78% said nobody under the age of 18 should be exposed to content and advertising about gambling.²

One young person said: “I have had so many YouTube ads that is not even funny.”

Around two thirds of children and young people (67%) agreed that famous individuals, celebrities and influencers should not be able to be allowed to promote gambling, around three in five agreed that including celebrities in gambling adverts is likely to make children and young people feel gambling is fun (64%), cool (59%), made them excited to try gambling (57%) and an easy way to make money (56%).  ²

One young person said: “Because you... You would feel like they're trustworthy because they're famous and everyone knows them, you know.”

In addition, a quarter (25%) of children and young people said they have been tempted to spend money gambling after seeing a celebrity gambling or advertising gambling. More than a third (36%) of boys aged 16-17 years old recalled taking part in gambling activities themselves after seeing a celebrity promoting or taking part in gambling, which suggests that a one-size-fits-all attitude to protecting children and young people may fail with audiences at particular risk such as older boys.²

GambleAware is urging regulators to address the growing impact of digital platforms and influencer marketing in promoting gambling to young audiences. The charity is calling for the government to further restrict gambling marketing and content online in the short term whilst wider regulations are put in place, and to ensure that both online marketing and content are within the scope of incoming recommendations from the cross-departmental safer gambling messaging group. GambleAware is also calling for the Advertising Standards Authority to reassess its guidelines on how celebrities are involved in gambling ads, especially who and what is appealing to children. GambleAware has also highlighted the need for greater education and awareness efforts, with 86% of young people saying more should be done to teach about gambling risks.

Zoë Osmond OBE, CEO of GambleAware, said: “Digital technology has transformed how children and young people consume content, with mobile phone ownership widespread and many spending hours daily on social media. Social media platforms and influencers now play a pivotal role in shaping attitudes and behaviours and this research shows that some are playing a part in encouraging young people to gamble.

“It is unacceptable that children’s environments continue to be flooded with age-restricted content. Consistent exposure to influencer-driven gambling content contributes to the normalisation of gambling amongst school aged children and we know that early exposure to gambling at a younger age can lead young people to have a higher risk of experiencing gambling harm later in life. This research shows children’s desire for increased transparency and regulation of gambling content, and that they want freedom from gambling content online and. Urgent action must be taken by the Government to catch-up with the digital age.” 

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. Taken from “Understanding trends between online gambling content, and gambling attitudes and behaviours among children and young people”. This data was collected among 634 children and young people within education (includes; private selective secondary school, multi-academy trust and a further education college across specific geographical areas (South West, South East, West Midlands). The data is not representative of the wider population. The wider project also included a content analysis of online environments and qualitative interviews with school children. The full report can be accessed via the GambleAware publication library here.
2. Taken from “The Appeal of Celebrity Ambassadors to Children & Young People Aged 11-17”. This data was collected among 2,100 11-17 year olds and is nationally representative of this audience across GB. The project also included qualitative interviews with a subset of 11-17 year olds. The full report can be accessed via the GambleAware publication library here.

About GambleAware

• GambleAware is the leading independent charity (Charity No. England & Wales 1093910, Scotland SC049433) and strategic commissioner of gambling harm education, prevention and treatment across Great Britain to keep people safe from gambling harms.  
• GambleAware commissions the National Gambling Support Network (NSGN) which provides, free confidential treatment, as well as the National Gambling Helpline which takes over 55,000 calls a year.  
• The introduction of a statutory levy and the appointment of three new commissioners for gambling harms research, prevention and treatment means that the work historically delivered by GambleAware will now transition to the UK government and new commissioners across England, Scotland and Wales.
• GambleAware remains committed to fulfilling existing commissioning agreements until the new system is in place by April 2026. Our main priority continues to be keeping people safe from gambling harm and to ensure stability and continuity for our beneficiaries as the new commissioners take over. The GambleAware website and critical prevention resources continue to provide accessible support for all.