Coverage: Northern Ireland Publication
Date: 6th December 2023
Main stories
Overall, three in ten young people (30%) had gambled in some form within
the 12 months prior to the 2022 survey, with boys being more likely to
have gambled than girls (33% and 27% respectively).
The most common types of gambling that young people had participated in
in the previous 12 months were playing fruit or slot machines (13%),
playing cards for money (7%), and buying a Lotto ticket or National
Lottery scratchcards (7%).
Of those who had gambled within the past year, almost a fifth (17%) had
done so online, with boys (23%) more than twice as likely to gamble
online than girls (9%).
Over two-thirds (69%) of young people had used in-game currency or
items. Again, boys (85%) were more likely than girls (53%) to have done
so.
Of those who had used in-game currency or items, just under a third
(31%) had spent money on loot boxes.
Of those who had gambled within the past 12 months, more than one in
seven (15%) had been encouraged to do so because of a gambling
advertisement.
Introduction
Among other policy areas, the Department for Communities (DfC) has
strategic responsibility for the development of policy and legislation
on gambling in Northern Ireland. Gambling in Northern Ireland is
currently regulated by the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusments
(Northern Ireland) Order 1985. This bulletin provides headline analysis
on some aspects of gambling.
Engagement in gambling includes:
Participation in gambling
Online gambling
Use of and spending on in-game items and currency
Gambling advertisements
Young Persons’ Behaviour and Attitudes Survey
This report presents the findings from the 2022 Young Persons’ Behaviour
and Attitudes Survey (YPBAS) in relation to engagement with gambling. It
will be used to inform the development, monitoring and evaluation of
policy. More information relating to YPBAS, methodology, definitions and
the interpretation of the figures can be found in the Definitions & technical
notes section. Data tables are available in
Excel
and
ODS
format. The questions that were asked in YPBAS 2022 are available
here.
Lead statistician: Duane Roberts
Participation in gambling in the past 12 months
In 2022, three in ten (30%) young people in Northern Ireland had
participated in some form of gambling within the year prior to the
survey. Boys (33%) were more likely to have gambled within the previous
year than girls (27%).
In general, the proportion of young people who had gambled within the
previous year increased as the school year group of pupils increased,
from just over a quarter (27%) of young people in Year 8 to a high of
more than a third (35%) in Year 11.
Young people who were entitled to free school meals were more likely to
have gambled within the previous year (34%) than those who were not
entitled to free school meals (29%).
Young people from the Catholic community were more likely than young
people from the Protestant community to have gambled within the previous
year (33% and 27% respectively).
Types of gambling activity
The most common types of gambling that young people had participated in
in the previous 12 months were playing fruit or slot machines (13%),
playing cards for money (7%), and buying a Lotto ticket or National
Lottery scratchcards (7%).
Playing fruit or slot machines was the most commonly cited form of
gambling for girls (14%), while for boys a similar proportion cited
playing a fruit or slot machine or playing cards for money as the most
common forms (12% and 11% respectively).
Online gambling
Of those who had gambled within the previous year, almost a fifth (17%)
had gambled online, with boys (23%) being more than twice as likely as
girls (9%) to have gambled in this way.
Further analysis of young people who had gambled in the past year showed
that those who were entitled to free school meals were more likely than
those who were not entitled to free school meals to have gambled online
in the past 12 months (23% and 15% respectively).
In-game currency and items
The use of in-game currency and items do not necessarily equate to
gambling, with only the activities of paying money to open loot boxes,
packs or chests and betting with in-game items on websites outside of
the game, being considered as such.
Over two-thirds (69%) of young people had used in-game currency or
items, for example, skins, clothes, weapons, accessories, players.
Boys (85%) were more likely to have used in-game currency or items than
girls (53%).
The proportion of young people who had used in-game currency or items
decreased as school year group increased, with an overall 8 percentage
point decrease from 73% in year 8 to 65% in year 12.
Young people who were entitled to free school meals were more likely to
have used in-game currency or items (75%), compared with those who were
not entitled to free school meals (68%).
Spending on specific in-game items
Of the young people who had used in-game currency or items, just over
four in five (81%) had paid money to buy specific items, with boys (83%)
being more likely than girls (78%) to have done so.
Spending money to open loot boxes
Of the young people who had used in-game currency or items, almost a
third of young people (31%) had paid money to open loot boxes, packs or
chests, in order to get other in-game items. Further analysis of those
who had used in-game currency or items showed that boys (39%) were more
than twice as likely as girls (18%) to have paid money to open loot
boxes, packs or chests.
Analysis by school year group of those who had used in-game currency or
items shows that the proportion of young people who paid money to open
loot boxes, packs or chests generally increased as school year group
increased, with 19% in Year 8 having done so compared with 40% in Year
11.
Betting with in-game items on websites outside the game
Of the young people who had used in-game currency or items, only 3% had
bet with in-game items on websites outside of the game they were
playing, with boys (4%) being twice as likely as girls (2%) to have done
this.
Further analysis of those who had used in-game currency or items showed
that the proportion of young people betting with in-game items on
websites outside the game they were playing increased as school year
group increased, from 1% in Year 8 to 4% in Year 12.
Gambling advertisements
Of those young people who had gambled within the previous year, more
than one in ten (15%) had been encouraged by a gambling advertisement to
spend money on gambling, with boys being more likely than girls to have
been encouraged (18% and 12% respectively).
Definitions & technical notes
Young Persons’ Behaviour and Attitudes Survey
The Central Survey Unit of the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research
Agency was commissioned by a consortium of government departments and
public bodies to design, conduct and report on a study of the behaviour
and attitudes of young people in Northern Ireland. The Young Persons’
Behaviour and Attitudes Survey (YPBAS) is a school-based survey carried
out among 11-16 year olds and covers a wide range of topics relevant to
the lives of young people today. The main aim of the YPBAS is to gain an
insight into, and understanding of, their behaviour and lifestyle. It
also aims to influence various government policies and practices
relating to young people and to facilitate access to research findings
and expertise.
Questionnaire
Two versions of the questionnaire were used to accommodate demand for
topics on the 2022 survey. The content and structure of each
questionnaire was agreed in consultation with clients. Schools were
randomly assigned one version of the questionnaire. A copy of the DfC
questions relating to gambling can be accessed at:
The Department of Education (DE) provided CSU with a list of all
post-primary schools in Northern Ireland (excluding independent schools
and those which catered solely for pupils with special needs). All 192
post-primary schools were contacted and invited to participate. Seventy
four schools agreed to participate in the study, resulting in a response
rate of 39%. One class in each of the five year groups (years 8-12) was
then randomly selected to take part in the study. A total of 3,726
pupils were surveyed using Version A (response rate 84%) and 3,772
pupils using Version B of the questionnaire (response rate 85%). DfC’s
questions on engagement in gambling were included in Version B.
Statistical significance in this report
The results presented in this report are based on data which has been
weighted by year group, gender and religion in order to reflect the
composition of the Northern Ireland post-primary population. Since a
three stage sample design was used (schools, classes and pupils), the
required assumption of random sampling was not met for significance
testing. In 2013, standard errors were calculated for some of the
variables in the survey using a formula for complex samples. However,
when these were compared with standard errors calculated using the
formula for random samples there was little difference (see
Technical
Report). Given those findings, and the methodology is consistent
with that used in 2013, tests of statistical significance in this
bulletin have been carried out using the formula for random samples.
Any statements in this report regarding differences between groups such
as different years and whether young people are entitled to free school
meals, are statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. This
means that we can be 95% confident that the differences between groups
are actual differences and have not just arisen by chance. Both the base
numbers and the sizes of the percentages have an effect on statistical
significance. Therefore on occasion, a difference between two groups may
be statistically significant while the same difference in percentage
points between two other groups may not be statistically significant.
The reason for this is because the larger the base numbers or the closer
the percentages are to 0 or 100, the smaller the standard errors. This
leads to increased precision of the estimates which increases the
likelihood that the difference between the proportions is actually
significant and did not just arise by chance.
Other notes
The following should be noted when interpreting figures and tables:
Percentages less than 0.5% are denoted by ‘0’ and where there are no
responses, they are denoted by ‘-’.
Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding.
Percentages may not add to 100% for questions where multiple responses
are allowed.
Detailed tabulations are not provided where the number of respondents is
too small to allow meaningful analysis.
The base number of responses to each question, which is shown in each
table, is the unweighted count. The base may vary due to some
respondents not answering certain questions.
Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics
Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and
value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of
official statistics should adhere to. You are welcome to contact us
directly with any comments about how we meet these standards.
Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR
website.
Participated in gambling - Have done at least one of the
following in the 12 months prior to the YPBAS:
Played a Fruit or slot machines (e.g. in an amusement or gaming arcade)
Played cards for money
Bought a Lotto ticket or National Lottery scratchcards
Played Bingo for money
Placed a bet in a betting shop (e.g. on football, horseracing or other
sports event)
Placed a private bet for money
Used gambling websites / apps where you can win real money (e.g. poker,
casinos, bingo, betting on sport or other events)
Any other gambling
Online gambling -
Gambling in which persons participate by the use of computers, tablets
and both browsers and apps on smartphones to place a bet.
In-game currency -
Currency specific to a game such as gold, gems, points or credits, that
can be used within a game to purchase items, open loot boxes, packs or
chests. Can typically be earned through play or purchased using
real-world money.
In-game items -
Items within a game (e.g. skins, clothes, weapons, accessories,
characters) that can be collected through play or purchased using
in-game or real world currency.
Loot boxes, packs and chests -
In-game items that can be purchased, with either in-game or real world
currency, to receive a random selection of further in-game items
(e.g. skins, clothes, weapons, accessories, characters).
Gambling advertisements -
The promotion of a gambling product or service via a variety of media.
