Summing Up the UKGC 2020 Gambling Behaviour Survey
The online gambling world is alive, vibrant and evolving every year. Progressing hand in hand with technology and entertainment industries, it demands close observation. Accordingly, the Gambling Commission does quarterly online surveys to evaluate online gambling behaviour in the UK. The latest survey, conducted by Yonder Consulting and presented by Nostrabet, reveals interesting data collected during March, June, September, and December 2020. The research was conducted on a nationally representative sample of approximately 8,000 adult Brits (aged 18+).
One of the main highlights of the survey is the indication that the most popular way to access online gambling is through mobile phones. Interestingly enough, the majority of online gambling sessions still take place at home. Merely one in five gamblers takes their gambling adventures outside the house.
Covid-19 Restrictions Amping Up the Online Gambling Industry
The arrival of the pandemic made a significant impact on our daily lives. Due to imposed restrictions, gamblers saw a notable reduction in their land-based gambling opportunities. The impact of Covid-19 on the gambling market and consumers is still being observed. However, it makes perfect sense to see a shift in trends in favour of online gambling possibilities. Of course, there is no way of knowing if the results would be the same for 2020 if there weren’t a pandemic involved. However, previous statistics did track an increase in online gambling participation in the last several years. According to the findings by the UKGC from 5 years ago, around 17% of adults gambled online in the past four weeks.
In 2020, that percentage went up to 24%, which translates to almost one in four adults. With that in mind, it is safe to say that Covid-19 influenced the way people gamble. They not only work from home, but they also gamble from home.
Mobile Phone: The Dominant Way of Accessing Online Gambling
It’s no big surprise that mobile phones have taken over online gambling. Especially among younger people, smartphones were the most popular way of accessing online gambling platforms in 2020. The statistics are clear on this. As much as ? of the group of 18–34-year-old online gamblers use their mobile phones to gamble. Those aged 65+ are present barely in the 14% of the respondents. Moreover, the younger bettors are inclined to use a wider range of different devices to attend to their gambling appetites.
Out of ten online gamblers, four opt for gambling on their laptop; it is the second most common way of accessing betting sites. PCs occupy third place, followed by tablets and Smart TVs. At this point, Smart TVs are referred to as the “niche” way of gambling online, but analysts predict an increase in use. This, of course, depends on whether online gambling companies will recognize the unexploited potential of these modern devices.
The “Where” of Gambling Over the Internet
Many people experienced a strange merge of their work and home lives during 2020. Regarding their gambling habits, most of the survey participants carried out their gaming sessions within the home. More free time and the inability to go outside and lead an eventful lifestyle resulted in people’s homes being the main locations where they gambled over the internet.
One in five online gamblers has gambled on the web outside their homes. That equals 20% of the respondents, mainly those aged 18-24. Data collection shows that 8% of the participants would still gamble online while at a club or a pub, which was only possible during periods of lighter restrictions.
An Average Gambler Holds Up to Three Active Accounts; Young Bettors More
A single gambler can hold multiple accounts with multiple online gambling providers. Gamblers aged 18-44 will hold more online accounts on average than those aged 55+. They will also use them more often. The stats also indicate that males have more accounts than females, but they also use them more frequently.
A fifth of the respondents within the 18–34-year-olds group hold 5 or more betting accounts online. Such an occurrence is observed in those aged 65 and over, but no more than 5% of the respondents fit the profile. Thus, as you can see, consumer-gambling activities are not confined to the younger generations exclusively.
Garcia Miller, editor and bookmaker analyst at Nostrabet, commented:
“Betting via mobile devices is gaining more and more popularity over recent years. Most betting sites provide Android and iOS apps that allow customers to access the available betting options and games. Those that haven’t introduced any mobile apps yet have responsive mobile websites that work perfectly. Punters really appreciate the fact that they can place bets wherever they are. It is no surprise that the mobile betting percentage is growing.”
