UKGC new study reveals increase in UK gamblers

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) presented its latest report which revealed more information about the levels of gambling participation, attitudes and behaviour of British customers.

The survey shows that 48% of respondents aged 16 years or older have placed bets over the past four weeks at the time of the research. This marked a 3% increase compared to the number of people who gambled in 2015. However, this figure dropped to 33% if those that had only played the National Lottery were excluded.

The survey proved that 17% of gamblers put their wagers online, with 97% of them gambling at home.

When it comes to the use of mobile phones or tablet devices in the gambling process, there was a 10% increase in the usage in comparison to 2015, to reach 43% in 2016.

The Programme Director James Green commented on the report saying: “This report paints an important picture of how consumers in Britain choose to gamble – identifying emerging trends and potential risks to the public”.

“We are also now able to provide a more detailed snapshot of online behaviours, which featured for the first time last year. Effective protections come from strong evidence. Our research puts us in a powerful position to better understand the needs of gambling consumers” said James Green.

When it came to marketing, the UKGC found that online gamblers are more likely to make a wager based on advertising (46%) than on social media posts (21%).

The report showed that 0.7% of those that gambled in the past 1 year identified as problem gamblers. This number increased from 0.5% which was reported in 2016.