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The problem gambling rate in Northern Ireland has increased in recent years, prompting lawmakers to demand a “fair share” of the UK’s recently introduced statutory levy.
The Prevalence of Gambling in Northern Ireland 2024 report was published on April 30 and includes problem gambling rates, attitudes to gambling and gambling advertising exposure.
Similar surveys were carried out in 2010, which found a 3 percent problem gambling rate, and in 2016, with a 2 percent rate.
While the base rate has remained between 2 and 3 percent since 2010, lawmakers are worried about much higher rates of reported symptoms, such as stress and anxiety.
Philip McGuigan, chairperson of the Northern Ireland Assembly’s All-Party Group (APG) on Reducing Harm Related to Gambling, reiterated calls for a public health approach to gambling following the publication of the survey.
“We are still relying on gambling legislation from 1985 and the world has fundamentally changed since then,” McGuigan told Vixio GamblingCompliance.
“The Northern Ireland Assembly passed an amendment to this legislation in 2022, which was intended to be the first part of a two-phase process,” he said.
“However, we still await the introduction of a levy on the land-based gambling industry, which is part of this. We urgently need this to resource the research, education and treatment of gambling harms.”
Over the last year, McGuigan says 8 percent of people who gamble have suffered health impacts such as anxiety or stress as a result, and over half of moderate risk or problem gamblers have experienced health impacts.
The figures are particularly concerning due to the lack of research, education and treatment funding available in Northern Ireland.
Robbie Butler, vice-chairperson of the APG on Reducing Harm Related to Gambling, explained: “There is no NHS-commissioned service supporting people who are experiencing harm from gambling in Northern Ireland.”
“We want to see our part of the UK get its fair share of the recently introduced statutory levy on online gambling operators, who are licensed to advertise here by the Gambling Commission, so that resources can be invested into addressing this serious public health issue for people here,” Butler said.
The problem gambling rate in Northern Ireland (3 percent) is slightly lower than the Republic’s rate (3.3 percent), but higher than the rate in Britain (2.5 percent).
Butler believes this reinforces the “urgent need” for Northern Ireland to invest in public health services to address gambling harms.
When it comes to advertising, 65 percent of adults in Northern Ireland say there are “too many gambling advertisements”, 71 percent support a watershed for gambling advertisements, and 42 percent say they should be banned altogether, according to the report.
However, gambling sponsorships divided respondents, with 50 percent saying they should be allowed to continue.
Northern Ireland Not Included In Landmark Statutory Levy
The UK government announced plans in 2024 to generate £100m for the research, prevention and treatment of gambling harms by imposing a levy of up to 1.1 percent on gross gambling yield, with the levy to vary between 0.1 and 1.1 percent depending on the gambling sector.
Northern Ireland is not covered by the levy despite being part of the UK, as it regulates gambling under its own law.
In February 2025, Gambling Minister Baroness Twycross was asked by a Northern Irish lawmaker about the possibility of expanding the levy to cover Northern Ireland.
She acknowledged that Northern Ireland and Great Britain have a “shared interest” in reducing gambling harm but did not commit to expanding the levy to Northern Ireland.
“Unlike Great Britain, Northern Ireland does not have an independent gambling regulator, and we stand ready to support the Northern Ireland Executive in plans to reform regulation in this space,” Twycross said.
Since her comments, the statutory requirement came into effect on April 6, with the first payments due on October 1, 2025. There has been no update regarding the inclusion of Northern Ireland in the levy.
Full details of how the levy will be calculated and how to make payments will be provided before September 2025, according to the Gambling Commission.
Next Steps
The Prevalence of Gambling survey was commissioned by the Department for Communities (DfC).
A DfC spokesperson said it is “committed to ensuring that it has the evidence base it needs to help inform future policy decisions on gambling and the release of the 2024 Gambling Prevalence Survey is an important step in that process.
“Officials are considering the results of the survey in detail and will advise the Minister in due course,” the DfC told Vixio GamblingCompliance.
The DfC is currently focusing on practical changes that can be delivered during the current Assembly mandate, which ends in 2027, as it has been deemed impossible to bring forward new gambling legislation within the legislature's shortened timeframe.
In the coming months, the DfC will publish a gambling industry Code of Practice.
Proposals in the code that were consulted on last year include banning credit payments, individual operator-led self-exclusion schemes and a raft of changes aimed at preventing underage gambling in land-based venues, as well as other player protection-centric changes, such as banning ATMs in gambling premises.
