Study finds a quarter of young males in the UK want to be esports pros

Jack Stewart, Senior Editor

Last Updated: 17/09/2025

A recent survey has revealed that almost a quarter of young boys are interested in pursuing a career in esports.

The survey was commissioned by UK-based safeguarding charity Ygam and online parenting forum Mumsnet.

Ygam previously launched an esports and gaming harm prevention programme aimed at creating safe spaces for young people to game.

Over 1,000 parents of children aged 7-17 were surveyed on how big a role gaming plays in children’s lives.

The survey notes teenage boys aged between 15-17 spend nearly 34 hours on average gaming a week.

Additionally, 8 in 10 parents surveyed said they were concerned about their children’s screen time.

And two-thirds were worried about the risks of video game addiction.

On top of that, 52% of parents had seen gambling-like mechanics, like loot boxes, in the games their children play.

However, almost all of the parents surveyed (96%) recognised that playing games also benefits their children.

Parents highlighted lowering stress levels and aiding relaxation as ways that gaming helped their children.

Additionally, parents also mention gaming helps their children develop transferable skills such as digital literacy, critical thinking, and problem-solving.

According to these results, 24% of young boys aged between nine and ten expressed an interest in pursuing a career in esports.

And more than two-thirds of parents said they would support their child in following that path.

Helen Martin, Interim CEO of Ygam, says young people see gaming as “an exciting career path with a growing range of opportunities as the industry continues to grow.”

“This year’s findings underline the central role gaming plays in young people’s daily lives,” she added.

Esports are becoming increasingly more relevant, it’s why Ross Kemp visited the BLAST Open London CS2 tournament.

Development of gaming in the UK

More jobs in gaming should become available as the UK government has committed to growing the nation’s gaming industry.

However, the UK government’s £30m gaming industry investment failed to include the esports sector.

This growth package was part of a £380m investment into creative industries to maintain the UK’s status as a “creative superpower.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan predicted the CS2 BLAST Open at OVO Wembley Arena would boost London’s economy by £30m.

And yet, despite a clear interest from the UK’s youth, the government hasn’t developed concrete plans to boost the UK’s esports scene.

However, the lack of investment hasn’t stopped the country from developing elite esports stars.

Jake ‘Boaster’ Howlett won the Valorant Masters Toronto trophy with Fnatic earlier this year.

And William ‘mezii’ Merriman became the first Brit to win a CS major with Team Vitality, having won multiple tournaments this year.

Jack Stewart, Senior Editor

In my seven years of esports writing, I've introuduced esports coverage to newspapers, interviewed some of the biggest names in the industry, and driven viewers mad with the puns in my YouTube scripts. I'm most proud of the latter.

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