AQW 36802/22-27

Mr Danny Donnelly
Alliance Party
East Antrim

Tabled Date: 04/12/2025
Answered On Date: 22/12/2025
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health to detail any plans his Department’s has to conduct a primary evidence review of gambling-related harms.

Answer:

It is well documented that Northern Ireland currently has a deficit in up-to-date data and evidence on gambling harms. To address this, my Department has worked collaboratively with cross-departmental colleagues to strengthen the evidence base. This includes the inclusion of gambling-related questions in the Young Person’s Behaviour and Attitude Survey 2022 (YPBAS) and, for the first time, in a pilot module, in the Northern Ireland Health Survey 2023/24. The results from the YPBAS were published on 6 December 2023 and the Northern Ireland Health Survey pilot results were published on 11 December 2025. In addition, the Department for Communities commissioned a Gambling Prevalence Survey during 2024, with results published earlier this year.

Whilst there are no plans to conduct a formal primary evidence review, my officials will continue to work with officials in the Department for Communities to identify the most appropriate source of gambling prevalence and harm information for Northern Ireland.