Gambling Harm: The Evidence
Data from the NHS, GambleAware, the Gambling Commission and academic research on the harm caused by gambling venues — particularly Adult Gaming Centres in residential areas.
These are the figures that licensing authorities are required to consider under public health policy. All sources are publicly available.
Scale of the Problem
The Gambling Commission publishes annual industry statistics. Key figures:
- There are approximately 1,453 Adult Gaming Centres operating across Great Britain
- AGCs collectively generated over £682.9 million per year in gross gambling yield in the 2024–25 financial year, an increase in 9.6% over the year before (source)
- The number of AGCs in areas with above-average deprivation indices is disproportionately high (source)
GambleAware (the gambling industry-funded public health charity) found that (source):
- Those already facing inequality, based on deprivation, are also more likely to experience harm from gambling
- A fifth (21%) of gambling premises are based within the most deprived of areas of Britain, while just 2% are located in the least deprived areas
NHS & Public Health England
NHS England has opened 15 gambling treatment clinics since 2019 due to “growing demand”. (source)
In 2019 Public Health England published a report (source):
- Calculated the total cost of harms caused by gambling in England as £1.27 billion
- Men were 4.2 times more likely than women to be gambling at levels of elevated risk of harm
- Estimated between 117 and 496 deaths by suicides associated with problem gambling
Want to cite these sources in your objection? Use the template letter and key arguments pages.