UK families 'spend more on gambling than vegetables'

2007-01-22 16:07:50

A new report examining what products and pastimes the British spend their money on has revealed that gambling accounts for a greater proportion of income than either fruit or vegetables.

The Family Spending study, commissioned by the Office for National Statistics, found that an average of £3.60 per week was spent on online and offline betting, compared to £3.40 on vegetables and £2.80 on fruit.

Leisure activities have experienced a sharp rise in popularity as Britons use their increasingly high levels of disposable income to enjoy themselves, the report reveals.

Recreation and leisure pursuits are now second only to transport as the biggest weekly expense, with a total of £58 a week being spend on such pastimes.

And with internet connections now present in 55 per cent of households, the propensity to spend that money online seems likely to increase over the coming years.

The annual study was based on a survey of 7,000 families from across the UK.


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