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An assessment of the accuracy of survey estimates of the prevalence of problem gambling in the UK

Author: P. Sturgis Published: May 2020
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Summary

This report by Professor Patrick Sturgis from the London School of Economics, commissioned by GambleAware, assesses the accuracy of different survey estimates of gambling prevalence in the UK, focusing on comparing probability and non-probability sampling methods.

Topics covered

  • probability vs non-probability sampling methods
  • sources of error in survey estimates, including coverage, nonresponse and measurement errors
  • comparison of gambling prevalence estimates from different UK surveys

Key findings

The report finds large differences in gambling prevalence estimates between probability-based health surveys and a non-probability YouGov survey. Both survey types are likely affected by various errors.
The health surveys may underestimate prevalence due to undercoverage and nonresponse, while the YouGov survey may overestimate it due to selection bias.

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