SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The Gambling Commission has published its latest report which sheds some light on gambling behaviour in Britain in the past year. Vitally, and for the very first time, this research includes extensive information about how people gamble in terms of which devices they use, where they gamble and how many accounts they use for it.
Paul Hope, Gambling Commission Programme Director, said: “It’s vital that we monitor gambling trends and behaviour across society. Reports such as these are essential for us when developing regulations and for the Government when developing public policies on gambling.”
Below is a more concise look at this report organised via a focus on the main takeaways from it. One of the key points to note is that overall participation in gambling is down, with a major nod to the falling number of national lottery players as a factor. Moreover rates of problem gambling have remained the same, with men far more likely to be problem gamblers and in particular the 18-24 years demographic the most at risk.
The methodology for this report consisted of telephone and online surveys. By telephone 1,000 surveys were made per quarter, in March, June, September and December of 2015 with a representative sample across demographics throughout the UK. The online surveys were conducted in the same intervals though a total of 8,000 were conducted (2,000 per quarter).
Who’s gambling?
Overall participation has taken quite a hit, down from 57% in 2012 to 45% in 2015 with the biggest slide in the past year alone; participation was at 53% in 2014. This was based on respondents having gambled in the past four weeks.
In terms of age demographics the biggest fall was in the 25-34 years category which saw a huge dip from 55% to 38%. As the infographic above highlights, there has been a steady decline in those playing the National Lottery and whilst it is a crucial reason for the overall fall in numbers it isn’t the sole factor.
Why the slide in numbers?
Excluding those that gambled but only played the National Lottery, the level of participation fell from 31% in 2012 to 27% in 2015.
From 2014 there was a fall of 6% (33% to 27%) compared to the 2014-2015 fall of 8% (53% to 45%) when those that only play the National Lottery are also accounted for. As such whilst this is a significant amount there are seemingly other notable factors involved.
One potential reason is the worsening perception of gambling which is something the report also investigated. Respondents, both those that had gambled in the past 12 months and those that hadn’t, were asked about their feelings on whether they believed the gambling industry can be trusted and is fair. Overall there was a 2% decline from 2014 in those that answered positively that yes it could; this is a figure which now stands at an all time low of 39% compared with 49% in 2008.
This fall was also more distinct in the group that had gambled in the past twelve months, down to 45% from a height of 61% in 2008, showing that the perception of gambling by bettors in the UK has worsened considerably year on year since then.
The reasons for this can only be speculated upon though common sense suggests that the extensive mainstream media coverage of Fixed Odds Betting Terminals encouraging problem gambling, and match fixing scandals across sport in recent times, are factors.
Online – Is everyone really going mobile?
The short answer to this would be no. The report shows that 15% of all respondents gamble online and that 97% gamble from the comforts of their own home. Unsurprising then that laptop is still king, with 61% opting for their laptops to place online bets.
Skeptics of the extent of this preference will highlight that this is across ages and whilst it is true that younger generations use mobile devices more for betting, a considerable 50% of 25-34 year olds who gamble online have tried it, the majority still favour the laptop.
Some of the reasons given for a preference for laptop betting included: “I use it for other things and therefore have it on more than any other medium” and that it’s easier to “input accurate stakes in a timely fashion.” Those that had a preference for mobile meanwhile justified their choice by how easy it is to bet casually whilst you’re watching sports, there was a nod to apps in particular over having to visit a site and one respondent stated: “It is more flexible and can be used in any location.” It was the 18-24 years group that bet the most whilst actually at a sports venue or track (12%) whilst a 1/4 of overall respondents who gambled online stated they engaged in in-play betting.
So laptops are the preferred device amongst each age group but what of other other devices? There’s a particularly noticeable decline in the use of desktop computers to gamble online as you look from the older to younger test groups. As a direct comparative example desktops were used by 44% in the 45-54 years category compared to just 27% in those aged between 18 and 24. The reason for this, it can be reasonably assumed, is that the younger age groups simply don’t have access to a desktop, and more will have their own laptop, which moreover is a device that they’ll have grown up. This is due to the increasing affordability of laptops over the past decade.
Tablet use is at its highest in the 25-34 years demographic with 21% of respondents having used them for betting in the past four weeks, a figure which is somewhat lower at 16% for 18-24 year olds. This is only 5% higher than the 55-64 years category which stood at 11%. One reason for opting for tablet over mobile was “Bigger screen than mobile and always have it with me (sic)”. The 25-34 year demographic is also the likeliest to gamble whilst commuting (21%), and, importantly, this is something age groups above 34 seem to have very little preference for (11% and lower).
What to remember from all this?
With so much information to hand it’s easy to get lost in a sea of figures. Below are some of the points deemed to be the most notable…
- Overall participation in gambling fell by 8% from 2014-2015
- This can be largely attributed to a continuing decline in National Lottery players
- A positive perception of gambling, particularly by those that do gamble, is at an all time low
- Problem gambling rates have remained largely the same, with no rise or fall
- Laptop is by far the preferred choice for online gambling
- Those in the 25-34 year old category gamble on tablet (21%), on mobile (42%) and on their commute (21%) more than any other
