UK students are gambling less often than they used to - but the ones who still play are going harder than ever. A fresh national survey has found that student gamblers now lose more than £50 every week on average, almost double what they were losing just a year ago.
Fewer players… bigger losses.
Researchers surveyed 2,000 students and found that 65% had gambled in the past year. That’s actually down from 78% in 2022. Sounds like progress, right?
Not quite. Because the students who are gambling are doing it more frequently, spending more money, and increasingly seeing betting as a way to boost their finances.
Gambling as a “Money-Making Plan”
Here’s the eyebrow-raiser: more than half of student gamblers (53%) say their main reason for gambling is to make money. That’s a noticeable jump from 45% just two years ago - and it paints a pretty clear picture of the financial pressure students are feeling right now.
On average, student gamblers now spend £50.33 per week, up from £27 last year. Nearly one in four spends more than £50 weekly, and male students are spending roughly double what female students report.
Sports betting and the National Lottery top the list of favourite activities, with sports bettors gambling around a third of the year. Online slots aren’t far behind.
Social Media Is Fueling the Habit
Friends remain the biggest influence on whether students gamble - but social media is catching up fast. Over a third of respondents said platforms and influencers play a role in their betting habits, showing just how normalised gambling content has become online.
There is some good news: problem gambling rates among students have fallen from 24% to 18% over the past three years. But the impact is still real.
Almost half of student gamblers say gambling has negatively affected their university life - from struggling to afford food to missing lectures or considering dropping out.
The takeaway? Students may be gambling less overall, but for many, the stakes have never felt higher.
