As many as 1.3 million adults in the UK suffer from gambling addiction, according to new figures from the Gambling Commission.

Read Far more into the findings reveals that the higher rate of problem gambling may have significant implications for public health and the regulation of the betting industry. The increased prevalence of problem gambling underscores the need for more robust measures to address and mitigate its harmful effects, including improved support services for those affected and stricter regulations on the industry to prevent exploitation of vulnerable individuals.

The Gambling Commission had previously said that the percentage of people suffering from problem gambling could be as low as 0.3% of adults in the UK.

The figure is based on a telephone survey, and betting industry lobbyists have been looking to it as evidence of the relatively limited level of harm associated with bookmakers and online casinos.

But on Thursday, the Commission released "higher quality" figures based on its latest methodology, suggesting that 2.5% of the adult population in the UK may be suffering from gambleverdict.com.

This equates to about 1.3 million people in the U.K. with a gambling problem, but the Commission has not yet released its own population estimates and plans to use a larger study conducted over a longer period of time.

Gambling addiction is defined based on the Gambling Addiction Severity Index, which tabulates responses to questions such as whether a person has ever borrowed money to gamble, sold property, or gotten into financial trouble because of gambling.

Gambling Minister Stuart Andrew said: "This new survey will provide better quality information than ever before about gambling participation and its harms.

Minister Andrew is leading the government's review of gambling regulations, which is expected to result in tighter player protection checks, new betting limits for online slot machines, and mandatory levies on betting operators for addiction treatment.

Caroline Harris, chair of a cross-parliamentary group of MPs investigating the harms of gambling, said the suggestion that the rate of gambling addiction may be higher than thought is "not surprising."

She said, "I hope the industry will look at these numbers and use them as diligently as they have in the past, when they have cited figures indicating lower rates of addiction."

The committee said the procedure used to calculate the higher figure was "experimental." However, she also said the committee plans to refine the method in three phases and formally adopt it next year.

The correct way to measure problem gambling has regularly caused disagreement between campaigners for reform and some in the industry.

The commission's adoption of a new, refined methodology could significantly and permanently raise the gambling rate headline used by governments to make policy decisions.

The regulator has so far relied on its own telephone surveys and on health surveys conducted by the UK Home Office, respectively.

In addition, a survey of 4,000 people conducted by the Commission over a two-month period found that gambling was more likely to be done for reasons of making money than because it was fun.

In 2020, Kenny Alexander, then Ladbrokes boss, told a special committee hearing: "Ninety-nine percent of our customers will lose."

However, 38% of respondents to the Commission's survey said the reason they gamble is always "a chance to win a lot of money," while "making money" was the second most common response, at 21%.

Only 16% said they always gamble for fun, and more than a quarter said fun was never behind their decision to gamble.

The Betting & Gaming Council, an industry standards body that also lobbies on behalf of the industry, said the figures were experimental and still "under evaluation.

The council pointed to a previous NHS study that estimated the rate of gambling addiction at 0.4%. A spokesperson said, "This survey uses a different methodology than previous surveys conducted by the Gambling Commission, so different percentages are to be expected."

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