UK online gambling witnessed growth in the year 2019. This rise in the gambling industry involved the participation of both – players at home and office. On the other hand, the sports betting industry experienced a downfall.
Gambling Commission revealed the recent survey focusing on the gamblers and their preferences. The survey revealed that 47% of people confirmed that they had participated in gambling in the last four weeks. 15% of people from this group participated in only National Lottery Draws while the rest belongs to the people who gambled their money at casinos.
The participation of players in online gaming witnessed growth by three points in 2019. The figure went to 21%. If you exclude people who used online mediums to participate in the lottery only, then the percent comes down to 16.6%. A large number of players, who used online casino sites to enjoy gambling, preferred their smartphones and tablets to gamble. There were only 38% of laptop users and 26% of computers and PC users who preferred desktop to play casino slots online.
A majority of online players preferred gambling at home. 95% of gamblers contributed to the home-based casino game players while 15% belong to the group that gambles at work. Players gambling at the office were in the 45-50 age groups. Survey also had it that 12% of players gambled while travelling to work.
Sports bettor preferred online mediums for betting as compared to the in-person betting. The online sports betting industry witnessed a growth of nine points with 81% of participants. However, retail sports betting underperformed and witnessed a downfall to 13%. 61% of racing bettors chose to participate in the match online while only 49% preferred in-person betting.
The in-play gambling industry saw a fall by two points in 2019 with only 21% of in-play participants. Surprisingly, 30% of the people from the 25-34 age group declined in-play betting, while the industry witnessed an increase in the in-play betting participation among 35-44 aged players.
As far as the frequency of gambling is concerned, the survey suggests either a flat or down frequency in almost all gambling groups. The number of players using the machines to bet at the gambling stores dropped to 0.8 in 2019. Perhaps, this was the result of the UK government’s decision of reducing the gambling bets on FOBT to £2 from £100 in 2019.
Self-Exclusion, T & C
The gambling industry has been constantly promoting the self-exclusion policy, which indeed has brought a major change in the gambling figures. Perhaps, the awareness of the self-exclusion program has resulted in the growth in the gamblers by 12 points since 2015. 9% of players preferred financial limit options while 5% of players ever signed up for this program.
Surprisingly, only 21% of players preferred to take time and read the terms and conditions before signing up with the casino. More than 65% of people, who bothered to read T & C said that they found this page helpful while 26% of people said that the terms were quite unfair.
Social Media Advertising
The online casino players who followed the social media accounts of the gambling companies witnessed a drop by three points to 23%. A majority of this downfall came from the old age group. Only online gamblers found social media advertising interesting and helpful.
General Perception
According to the survey, the number of people who believed that gambling was a fair practice in the UK dropped to 29%, while the number of respondents considering gambling crime and unfair practice jumped to 43% (up by 5 points). 40% of respondents made these choices based on what they see on news and television. Only 31% of respondents answered the survey based on their personal experiences.
A majority of respondents believe there are many gambling opportunities out on the markets and the activity scares families (73%). On the other hand, only a small portion of people believed that it should be the individual’s choice on whether or not to gamble.
