British gambling prevalence survey 1999

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Author(s): National Centre for Social Research

Publisher: UK Data Service

Year Published: 1999

Date Added: April 02, 2015

The British Gambling Prevalence Survey is a large-scale nationally representative survey of participation in gambling and the prevalence of problem gambling in Great Britain. The aims of the survey series are: measure the prevalence of participation in all forms of commercial and private gambling (including estimates of expenditure and information on venue); estimate the prevalence of 'problem gambling' and look at which activities have the highest prevalence of 'problem gamblers'; investigate the socio-demographic factors associated with gambling and with 'problem gambling'; and to assess attitudes towards gambling. Further information about the series can be found on the Gambling Commission's British Gambling Prevalence Surveys web pages. British Gambling Prevalence Survey, 1999 is the first survey in the series. The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) was commissioned by GamCare to carry out the first-ever survey of the Lottery and other gambling activities in Britain. GamCare is a national charity that promotes responsible gambling and monitors the social impact of gambling. In 1999, after the National Lottery was created and a wide range of gambling activities were available, this study was designed to find out who gambles, and on what. Most people enjoy gambling, and do so within sensible limits. A small number, however, get into severe problems with their gambling. Therefore an important aspect of this survey was to examine rates of problem gambling among the British population and to assess which gambling activities cause problems and for whom. The main topics covered were: participation in gambling in the past 12 months; participation in gambling in the past 7 days; attitudes to gambling and problem gambling screens; and personal and family gambling behaviour and socio-demographic questions.

Citation: National Centre for Social Research. (2010). British Gambling Prevalence Survey, 1999. [data collection]. UK Data Service. SN: 6639, http://doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-6639-1

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-6639-1

Keywords: correlates ; demographic characteristics ; Electronic Gambling Machines (EGMs) ; gambling activities ; gambling attitudes ; gambling behaviours ; gambling expenditures ; gambling participation ; lotteries ; prevalence ; sports betting ; substance use

Topics: Comorbidities ; Gambling Cognitions ; Game Types ; Information for Operators ; Lottery ; Slots and VLTs ; Sports Betting ; Substance Use

Conceptual Framework Factors: Gambling Types ; Psychological - Comorbid Disorders ; Cultural - Socio-cultural Attitudes ; Social - Social Demographics

Geographic Coverage: United Kingdom, England ; United Kingdom, Scotland ; United Kingdom, Wales

Study Population: Adults aged 16 and over living within private households in Great Britain.

Sample Size: N= 7,680 individuals

Sampling Procedure: The BGPS 1999 was designed to provide data at a national level about the population living in private households in England, Scotland and Wales. The sample for the BGPS 1999 was designed to be representative of all adults aged 16 and over living within private households. 7000 addresses in England, Scotland and Wales were randomly selected from the Postcode Address File (PAF), a publicly available list of all addresses registered with the Post Office. We randomly selected 280 sampling points (each represented half a postcode sector). Within each sampling point, 25 addresses were randomly selected. The PSUs were selected with probability proportional to the total number of addresses within them. Because PSUs were sampled with probability proportional to the numbers of addresses, and then a fixed number of addresses was sampled in each PSU, every address had an equal chance of being included in the sample. All adults aged 16 years or older at each household were eligible to take part in the study. Interviewers visited each selected address and collected household information by conducting a short household interview with the Household Reference Person or their Spouse/Partner. Self-completion booklets, which collected individual information about gambling behaviour, were given to every adult aged 16 and over resident within the household. The data has been weighted to adjust for non-response and selection biases. The data was weighted in three stages. The first stage was to correct for dwelling unit and household selection probabilities, for the small number of addresses where either more than one dwelling unit or household was identified. The second stage calibrated the achieved household sample so that the distributions for age/sex and Government Office Region (GOR) matched the ONS 2005 mid-year population estimates. The third stage corrected for individual non-response within participating households. Comparisons of the age and sex profile of the British population according to estimates from the Office of National Statistics show that the achieved sample was, in fact, a close reflection of the general population and therefore the weights were small. These weights have been combined into one weighting variable that has been included on the data (weight). The data were processed to the UK Data Archive's A standard. A rigorous and comprehensive series of checks was carried out to ensure the quality of the data and documentation. Firstly, checks were made that the number of cases and variables matched the depositor's records. Secondly, checks were made that all variables had variable labels and all nominal (categorical) variables had value labels. Where possible, either with reference to the documentation and/or in communication with the depositor, absent labels were created. Thirdly, logical checks were performed to ensure that nominal (categorical) variables had values within the range defined (either by value labels or in the depositor's documentation). Lastly, any data or documentation that breached confidentiality rules were altered or suppressed to preserve anonymity.

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