Local Authority Small Area Estimates of Gambling
Aims
The project aims to create a set of reliable estimates on gambling for every lower-tier local authority in England, showing how many adults in each local authority gamble and how many experience gambling‑related harms.
Gambling harms are the negative impacts of gambling that can impact on a range of areas, including health, finances, and relationships. They can affect both the individual who gambles and others around them.
Good quality local data allows us to understand the scale of gambling and levels of gambling harms in local areas. However, this type of information is currently not available. Local councils are increasingly responsible for planning local prevention services; they need strong evidence to assess local needs and make decisions on how to run services, carry out harm prevention, and how best to reach people who are most affected by gambling harms. The estimates produced by this project will therefore fill an important information gap.
Leadership
Heather Wardle, Professor of Gambling Research and Policy, University of Glasgow
Sarah Tipping, Research Associate, University of Glasgow
Methods
The project will use data from the Gambling Survey for Great Britain – a survey that collects official statistics on gambling participation and harm across Britain – and a method called Small Area Estimation. This approach allows us to produce reliable estimates for small local areas, even when a survey does not include many people from that area.
The analysis has three main steps. The first step is to match together survey data (taken from the Gambling Survey for Great Britain) and a set of widely available local‑level data, such as information about the local area’s age profile, data about local levels of deprivation, and whether the area is urban or rural.
The second step is to use a set of statistical models to understand how these local factors relate to the gambling harms and experiences seen in the survey. The third and final step is to use the models to produce estimates for each local authority in England.
The project will generate estimates of recent gambling activity, including online and in-person activities, and estimates of the severity of risk of gambling-related harm, both from an individual’s own gambling and the gambling of others around them.
Impact
The project will provide local authorities in England with a reliable tool for understanding the prevalence of gambling participation and the harms felt by the individual and others in their communities.
By giving councils accurate, up‑to‑date information on local patterns of gambling and harm, the project will help improve local services, guide prevention work, and support the wider government goal of developing neighbourhood health services. It will also help ensure that support reaches people who are most affected by gambling harms.
Suggested citation
Tipping, S. & Wardle, H. (2026). Lower-Tier Local Authority Small Area Estimates of gambling, NIHR Policy Research Unit in Addictions: London.