Alarming statistics: British teenagers become victims of skin gambling twice as often as adults

The UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has published the results of a large-scale analysis on the problem of skin gambling. The study, based on data from 54 specialised sites with a total traffic of almost 7 million unique visitors in February 2025, revealed frightening trends in the involvement of minors in gambling. As part of the work, an audit of 20 operators was carried out, scientific literature was studied and international regulatory experience was analysed.

With a total global traffic of 6.9 million unique visits, the UK accounts for 3.93%, which is more than 271 thousand visits. The audience of these sites is predominantly male (75.58%), with a clear dominance of the 18-24 age group. This segment accounts for 44.85% This is strikingly different from the audience of traditional online casinos, where the same age group accounts for only 12.57%.

A survey of more than 9 thousand respondents showed that 70.9% of them made their first bets between the ages of 13 and 17. Moreover, for the vast majority (82.26%), it was gambling with skins that became the first gambling experience in their lives.

Verification of the operators' activities showed their complete disregard for security measures. None of the 20 verified sites use reliable age verification systems. 95% of sites require only a Steam account to register, where the minimum age to create an account is only 13 years old.

Only 25% of sites have information pages on this topic, the self-exclusion option is available at 65% of operators, and deposit limits are set by only 5%. At the same time, 100% of the trusted resources actively use manipulative mechanics, such as the "almost win" effect and artificial acceleration of the gaming process to retain users. 70% of operators convert deposits into internal currency, blurring the sense of the real value of bets.

To attract a new audience, 85% of sites use affiliate programs, and 40% of the top 300 CS2 streamers have direct sponsorship contracts with skin gambling operators.

Against the background of the data obtained, DCMS strongly recommends recognising skin gambling as a full-fledged form of gambling and introducing appropriate state regulation for this area.