They may not be smoking or taking drugs, but British teens are placing their bets. Be it on card games, fruit machines or via apps, almost half a million young teenagers are gambling. The overall rate of gambling among 11- to 15-year-olds is now 16% – which is twice that of drinking alcohol.

Barclays is leading the way on the high street by allowing customers to block payments with certain retailers. The move follows a consultation with the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute and aims to hand a modicum of control to those suffering from addictive or compulsive behaviours.

Whether it’s betting on horses or buying a scratchy, gambling is big business. In fact, 68% of Brits gamble in some form. But with the industry’s tainted reputation threatening its future, what’s now driving people to place a wager? Canvas8 sat down with 20 men and women to find out why they gamble.

The field of economics posits that you can apply subjective probabilities to everything – but life is not lived as a lab experiment and it’s hard to predict what people will do in real-world situations. Canvas8 spoke to economist John Kay to learn how risk and uncertainty affect everyday decisions.