The gambling landscape – what we already know

According to recent figures, in Great Britain there are 25.8 million people aged 16 and over who gamble on products every four weeks, with about 14.5 million of those on products licensed under the Gambling Act. Many of these consumers also find themselves taken by certain gambling opportunities that could be anything from spin slots bonuses to specific other incentives offered for online gambling.

It is important not to always consider the gambling sector as a uniform sector – from an industry or consumer perspective.

The sector of gambling we regulate is diverse and composes of different kinds of products played by a multitude of consumers. Consumers use a lot of different products for a multitude of reasons: for different experiences, for different kinds of socialization, or even for a little piece of me time away from whoever else is in their lives. It can be an activity that is quite niche, or something from the mainstream.

At times, it is affected by the more visible alternatives fondly referred to as "games of chance"- such as the National Lottery. Whilst at other times, it is affected by the gambling-like products that may come with mechanics such as loot-boxes.

One could even list among the other macro trends impacting everything around us the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing suffering from the burden of the cost of living. All of this can thereby create a rather complicated environment to unpack or generalise.

The biggest shift in gambling over the last few years has been the switch to online play, much like our very lifestyle. Technological development and globalisation means that it is not limited anymore to opening hours or predominantly local events but has become an ongoing 24-hour-a-day global event-driven marketplace.

Online gambling is showing an upward trend in terms of participation over the longer term, and land-based gambling is decreasing. This trend, reflected in other sectors such as online grocery shopping or the growing popularity of digital fixed banks, is not surprising; after all, most UK adults have access to the internet.

Whilst the popularity of gambling in person has declined over time, retail remains a significant part of the sector.

Our data shows that against a backdrop of changing trends, the a majority do not have gambling-related harms, but for many, gambling is a source of problems that still needs to be addressed.

The precise measurement of gambling behavior and harms is complex and needs continual development; however, we know, at a minimum, that many hundreds of thousands of gamblers are deeply suffering from their gambling habits.

We now know, through this research, that some people are at greater risk for harm— namely, those who engage in multiple activities, men, those with presumed mental health issues, and high-spending players. We also know that gambling harms susceptible to it are not a static group, so by understanding the individual better and realizing what helps people avoid or recover from harm, we advance our understanding further.

Gambling and sports in the UK – a deep

The UK has a long-standing history of sports and gambling; in fact, sports betting is, by far, the most popular kind of gambling done online, with almost half of the UK gamblers saying that they have placed a bet at an online sports bookmaker in the last year. Bettors, in this context, are defined as people who have participated in gambling in the past month, excluding those who only play the lottery.

Gamblers are predisposed to sports, however, sports followers-those who regard themselves as either 'sports mad' or those who closely follow sports-are far more likely than the general British audience to bet. Comparative with just 12% of the whole population, almost a quarter of these fans have placed a bet with an online bookmaker in the past year.

However, not all sports are on an equal footing when it comes to gambling propensity, with fans of a few sports being much more likely to wager on sporting events or other types of games than others. In this article, we are going to look at the fans of some of the most popular sports in the country, namely football, rugby, cricket, tennis, and horse racing.

Fans of sports in this piece are defined as those who say they follow those sports on a regular basis.

Horse racing, with a long history of betting, is so far ahead in comparison that its fans are much, much more likely - by a long, long, long way - than fans of any other sport to make not only sportsbut also all forms of online betting. Nearly half of the respondents from this camp claim they had done so within the last year. Football supporters bring up the rear, just ahead of cricket fanatics. Less than one in five rugby and tennis fans claim they have placed online sports bets in the past year.

The variance is further shown in the amounts staked on gambling by the separate groups. While tennis fans are, of all, the least likely to engage in online gambling, when they do so, betting amounts tend to be fairly high among them. One-fifth stake 100 pounds or above monthly, both online and offline, second only to horserace fan gamblers. Football fan gamblers are least likely to stake at least 100 quid a month into any gambling activity.