Northern Ireland has most problem gamblers in UK

port published today has found that Northern Ireland has almost twice as many problem gamblers as Wales and Scotland, and four times as many as England.

The Northern Ireland Gambling Prevalence Survey identified 2.3% of individuals surveyed as being problem gamblers.

1,004 people were surveyed as part of the research conducted jointly by the Northern Ireland Department for Communities and the Northern Ireland Statistics Research Agency.

It found that males were 11.6% more likely to be at moderate risk of having gambling problems, compared to 3% of females. The national lottery was found to be the most common form of gambling that individuals participated in with 46.8% of surveyed individuals playing.

Overall, the number of people participating in gambling activities in the last 12 months fell by 12.6% in the years 2010-2016.

The survey found that online gambling participation had more than doubled from 6.7% in 2010 to 15.8% in 2016.

The three most common gambling advertisements seen by surveyed individuals were television advertisements at 80%, online with 47.3% and sponsorship related advertisements with 36.7%.