iGaming by the numbers.
The figures reporters, researchers and students reach for — each with its exact value, its primary source and a one-click citation. Independent and non-promotional: these are not the operator’s numbers. Always confirm against the primary source before publishing. 18+.Gambling harm & prevalence
How many are affected — the public-health picture.
5.5% of women and 11.9% of men. The Commission defines any-risk gambling as occasional experience of at least one behavioural symptom or adverse consequence, and states these estimates are likely conservative.
A global figure from the Commission's systematic review and meta-analysis, described as a conservative estimate.
This is the rate among people who use these specific high-frequency online products, not a population-wide rate. The Commission flags online casino and slots as the highest-risk formats.
Rate among people who use sports-betting products — lower than online casino/slots, but still markedly elevated among adolescents.
95% CI 1.9–2.8, roughly 1.3 million adults. PGSI 8+ means a person will have experienced adverse consequences from their gambling and may have lost control of their behaviour. The GSGB's push-to-web method typically reports higher PGSI scores than face-to-face surveys (the Commission attributes much of the gap to interviewer presence biasing answers downward), so it is NOT directly comparable with older survey rates.
Bands below the problem-gambling threshold: the Commission says people in the low-risk band are unlikely to have experienced adverse consequences and those in the moderate band may or may not have, but both may be at risk if heavily involved in gambling.
Official participation headline from the GSGB; excluding lottery-only players gives a clearer picture of engaged gambling.
The odds & the house edge
What the maths actually costs the player.
Applies to almost all bets on a double-zero wheel — roughly double the single-zero game.
Standard single-zero edge; can be roughly halved on even-money bets where 'la partage' or 'en prison' rules apply.
Highly rule-dependent. 0.28% assumes liberal Vegas Strip rules (dealer stands on soft 17, double on any two cards and after splitting, resplit aces, late surrender) and optimal basic strategy, before any card counting.
The lowest-edge main bet in baccarat (player 1.24%, tie ~14.4%); includes the standard 5% commission on banker wins.
The range of available returns from a major manufacturer; the actual edge is set per machine.
For matching all five main numbers plus both Lucky Stars; overall odds of any prize are about 1 in 13.
Approximate odds for one £2 line in one draw. Every line now enters two rounds per draw, each drawing six main numbers from 59, so the single-round odds of C(59,6) = 1 in 45,057,474 are roughly halved.
Citing iGamer
iGamer is built to be cited. Every figure across the portal carries a date and a primary-source link, the editorial line is independent and non-promotional, and entries are authored, not anonymous. When you quote a statistic, cite the primary source first and iGamer as where you found it — the “Cite figure” buttons above do exactly that.
Referencing iGamer in an article, paper or brief? We’d like to know — reach the editor, Vadym Zelinskyi. See also our method & sources.
Understand these numbers
What the figures mean, explained from first principles: the house edge and return to player behind the payout numbers, the player-protection hub behind the harm figures, and the living data trackers the market numbers come from.
These numbers move as new studies and regulator data land. Get a short, cited note when they do — independent, 18+, no hype.