A fresh study by Social Finance and Sherbert Research for GambleAwarehave carried out a survey with over 2,700 young people. The study found that children and teenagers in Great Britain are seeing more and more gambling content and from celebrities too.
Key points found from the survey are:
- 87% of children said they had come across something gambling related online.
- 25% felt the temptation to have a bet after seeing adverts.
- 36% of boys aged 16–17 who had seen a celebrity they like promote, ended up having a bet themselves.
- 67% of respondents think that celebrities and influencers should be banned from advertising gambling.
- Many reported seeing gambling links, sign-up codes, and tips shared by online content creators on social media.
From the survey 78% of young people agreed that anyone under the age of 18 should see ads relating to gambling with it being a leisure activity that is for over 18’s. Over half of the people in the survey said they couldn’t control how much content relating to betting they saw online.
GambleAware has stressed that urgent action is needed to restrict social media ads of gambling being streamed on TikTok, Youtube and Twitch. The constant exposure is making children think gambling is normal and increases the harm of becoming addicted later in life.
Zoe Osmond who’s the CEO of the charity has called for the regulators and government to act quickly to protect young children. This warning comes to the UK Government who are due to take over responsibilities of the charity from March 2026.