In 2025, YouGov’s leisure and entertainment coverage spanned a range of areas across the US and UK.

Gambling

In the UK, one of the clearest gambling signals this year was the early shape of AI adoption. About 16% of British bettors say they’ve used AI tools to guide gambling decisions in the last 12 months, rising to 33% among 18–34s.

In the US, YouGov looked at how sportsbooks are experimenting with subscription-like mechanics. Among sports bettors, parlays are a staple: over half (56%) say they place parlay bets at least weekly. When asked about a paid subscription that offers unlimited parlay odds boosts, two-thirds (65%) said they were likely to consider it.

But the year also underscored the reputational downside risk around integrity. In polling run after an FBI announcement about an illegal betting scheme, two in three (65%) Americans said they believe professional athletes alter how they play to help gamblers win bets.

Dining out, pubs, and bars

Dining out remains habitual, but the “value gap” is widening. In the US, seven in ten adults still eat out at least monthly — yet 37% say they’re doing it less often than a year ago (and 44% among lower-income households). 82% think restaurant prices have risen over the past year, while only 28% think prices are fair for the quality.

In Britain, YouGov profiled the “frequent diner” cohort: 27% say they eat out at least once a month, with men and women aged 18–34 notably more likely to do so (39% and 35%, respectively). Among frequent diners, cuisines like Chinese (37%), Indian (34%) and Italian (31%) lead recent consumption.

Brand perceptions track the same dynamic. In UK casual dining, YouGov BrandIndex value-for-money scores put Harvester (16) at the top of the list, with PizzaExpress (14.1) and Nando’s (12.7) right behind.

Cinemas

YouGov’s cinema content showed that in the US, two-fifths of adults say they go to the cinema at least once every 2–3 months, including a monthly core (12%). Among these cinemagoers, 46% report spending $20–$60 over the past three months.

In Britain, among cinemagoers at standard 2D screenings 30% buy nothing at concessions and 11% spend more than £20 — but this changes somewhat based on screening type. YouGov

The above represents just a fraction of our leisure & entertainment content for 2025 – and there’s more to come in 2026.

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