UKGC: Gambling Harm Higher In Ethnic Minority Groups
People from ethnic minority backgrounds in Great Britain gamble less overall than White participants but report higher problem gambling scores and far more adverse consequences, according to a new Gambling Commission report.
The UK Gambling Commission published Gambling behaviour and harm among people from different ethnic groups on October 27, 2026. It pools data from the 2023, 2024 and 2025 Gambling Survey for Great Britain, giving a sample large enough to look at White, Mixed or Multiple, Asian, Black and Other ethnic groups separately for the first time.
Overall gambling participation was lower among ethnic minority participants. The Commission says that gap was largely driven by lower participation in lottery draws.
Across most other activities the pattern reversed. Ethnic minority participants reported higher engagement in most non-lottery gambling and played across a wider range of activities, despite gambling less overall. The Commission says this is why headline participation figures can mask different patterns between groups.
Problem Gambling Scores
Ethnic minority participants had higher Problem Gambling Severity Index scores than White participants, including at a score of 8 or more, the threshold used for problem gambling. Estimates ranged from 1.9% for people from White backgrounds to 7.7% for those from Mixed and Multiple ethnic backgrounds.
The differences persisted after the Commission accounted for demographic and socio-economic characteristics and for gambling participation, so they are not explained by age, income or how much people gamble alone.
Rates of adverse consequences from gambling, including online betting sites, were often three to four times higher among ethnic minority participants than among White participants. For most groups the gap held after adjusting for demographic, socio-economic and wider gambling factors. The exception was people from Black backgrounds, where the Commission says most of the excess harm was explained by those factors.
The gap was largest at low levels of risk. Among people with a PGSI score of 0, about 2.7% of White participants reported at least one adverse consequence, against roughly 7% to 10% of ethnic minority participants. Among those scoring 8 or more, between 92% and 100% of every group reported harm, so the difference narrows as risk rises.
Support Is Not Keeping Pace
Use of gambling support services was higher among ethnic minority participants, but it remained well below the share reporting raised PGSI scores or adverse consequences. The Commission concludes that support-seeking has not kept pace with need.
The report builds on an earlier Commission study that found higher adverse consequences among ethnic minority participants as a single group. The new work breaks that group down, but its findings still rest on survey responses and sample sizes for some groups remain smaller than for others.
Casino Games Hub
What It Means For Players
The findings matter for anyone designing safer gambling tools, because screening based only on the PGSI score could miss harm that appears at lower risk levels. Operators and charities may now be asked to show how their messaging and support reach different communities.
Players who are worried about their own gambling can find tools and guidance on our responsible gambling hub. The Commission has not announced new rules in response to the report.
