GamCare Reports Rise in Problem Gambling

Data from the UK gambling support charity GamCare shows that the percentage of online gamblers seeking support for problems related to online slot machines has almost doubled in the past five years.

Of those who disclosed and cited difficulties with online gambling on the National Gambling Helpline, which is operated by GamCare, last year, 60% said that online slots were one of the main activities they struggled with, a figure which stood at 34% between 2018-19.

The findings, which come as the government consults on introducing maximum stake limits for online slot games, show that 73% of all callers to the helpline last year said that they had struggled with online gambling.

Additionally, over a five-year timespan, the proportion of people citing challenges with betting exchanges has increased from 0.3% to 7.6% and the proportion of people citing challenges with online financial markets – such as cryptocurrency and high-risk trading platforms – has increased from 0.02% to 2.17%.

Conversely, the proportion of people who have had difficulties with betting on sports online has fallen, from 34% in 2018-19 to 20% in 2022-23.