UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has posted the results of a special gambling participation survey, according to which the young British adults are not into gambling activities as much as they did before. The statistics fuelled the fears of gambling operators that the majority of their product are no longer as attractive as they were for the customers.
The fact that gambling activities seem not to be so attractive to young adults will probably unleash various discussions on the matter. Still, the numbers may also reflect the extremely bad economic fortunes of the young adults in the UK.
The above-mentioned gambling participation survey was conducted by the market research firm Populus on behalf of the major British casino and gaming regulatory authority – the UK Gambling Commission. According to the data announced, a total of 16% of the people who responded to the survey have participated in some form of web-based gambling activities over the period from January to June 2016.
The figure was one point up in comparison to the one posted in 2015, which on the other hand remained the same as the results of similar surveys that took place from 2013 to date.
However, apart from the small increase of the individuals engaged in gambling activities over the first half of 2016, there was a decline of the young adults who took part in such activities in the period. When breaking the data down by participants’ age, the figures showed that only 11% of the respondents aged from 18 to 24 confirmed they have placed wagers online in the reported period. This was a from from 12% registered in 2015 and 17% in 2014.
These figures look even worse, when the players who participated online only in the National Lottery are excluded from the overall number of respondents, as the percentage of 18-24-year-old online gamblers declined by two points to 10%.
On the contrary, the other age demographic figures of the current survey showed an increase of the online gamblers in the period. Most reported gains were single-digit ones. The increase registered in the age bracket from 45 to 54 amounted to 4 points to 22%, while the one in the 55-64 bracket amounted to 2 points to 16%. There was also a 2-point increase in the group of senior citizens, with the percentage rising to 9%.
When National Lottery online gamblers are excluded from the other age demos, gains are registered once again. The largest increase of 6 points is reported in the 45-54 age group, where the percentage rose to 16%.
When it comes to non-lottery gambling activities, the 18-24 age group is ranked second-lowest. It is outrun only by the senior citizens demo.
- Author
Daniel Williams
