In July, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) released its latest update of the statistics regarding the impact that the coronavirus pandemic on the country’s gambling sector.
As revealed by the gambling regulatory body at the time, although the peak of the coronavirus pandemic in Great Britain is considered to have been brought to an end, the Covid-19 infection and the lockdown that followed is still affecting every industry across the country. Apart from that, the lockdown period has brought considerable changes to consumer behaviour and has affected the gambling sector, but the easing of the social distancing and shutdown measures have done the same.
The UKGC unveiled its latest research on the impact inflicted by the Covid-19 on the industry and shared it remains focused on its greatest responsibility – to protect customers and understand how the risks they could face are changing. The gambling watchdog is collecting extra data from gambling companies and is doing consumer research, both of which are allowing it to provide a better picture over time.
Major Consumer Trends Identified in the Latest Savanta Report
According to the UK Gambling Commission, important data for making analysis of the gambling sector in the country could be received by the current consumer trends, as they provide the regulatory body with information about consumer behaviour, the financial capabilities of the population and the way people spend their time and money.
The UK business-to-business marketing research company Savanta carried out the research on behalf of the UKGC to check the overall impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the country’s gambling sector.
According to the results of the research, about one-quarter of the country’s population stated that the lockdown has negatively affected their mental health, while loneliness has been a major problem for some adults over the period. In addition, the Savanta research found that the Covid-19 social distancing and shutdown measures have had a massive financial impact on the population, with about 40% of participants having reported a decline in their disposable income.
While they were forced to spend most of their time at home, people also seem to have changed their engagement with entertainment and news. According to data provided by Savanta, this trend is especially noticeable among gamblers. Furthermore, According to the YouGov data by mid-June, people who had participated in gambling activities over the past four-week period were more likely to have watched TV more, spent more money on the Internet on entertainment or consumed more on-demand entertainment over the last two weeks.
Covid-19 Pandemic Effect on the UK Gambling Sector
Because of the coronavirus pandemic outbreak, all land-based gambling establishments across the country were required to cease operation as of March 20th. This basically meant that activities that normally account for half of the overall gambling market, including lotteries, stopped. On June 15th, licensed betting operators became the only gambling establishments allowed to resume operation in England, brick-and-mortar gambling services across the country were not able to provide much. there has also been a decline in the availability of land-based shops and fewer customer shopping journeys.
UKGC Registered Decline in the Number of Gamblers
According to gambling companies data gathered by the UKGC to compare some of the major trends in March 2020 to March 2019, the extensive lockdown period seems to have attracted fewer consumers to gambling. A YouGov research held on May 20th-21st showed that mere 0.4% of all British adults who took part in the survey revealed that they had gambled for the first time in their lives over the last four weeks. In comparison, 2.1% of adults had stopped gambling in general over the same 4-week period. Reports showed that these figures did not considerably differ from the rates reported at the beginning of the Covid-19 lockdown.
Gambling companies data on the total number of active player accounts showed a further 1.2% decline from April to May 2020, with the number of active players being reduced in each of the industry verticals apart from real-event betting, which saw a massive 13% increase in the period mostly because of the fact that the Bundesliga returned on May 16th.
The YouGov survey was conducted in seven waves from April 16th to June 18th. It showed that gambling participation has still been stable, in the range from 28% to 32%. However, a significant improvement in sports betting participation has been reported, corresponding with the return of some professional sports, including English Premier League (EPL) football matches. On the other hand, betting on virtual sports has declined during the same period.
As long as the UK National Lottery is concerned, data gathered by the YouGov research showed a drop in customer participation in so-called draw-based games from 26% in the middle of April to 22% in the middle of June. Sales have been doing surprisingly well, considering the unusual situation and the participation decline. They have managed to recover after an initial, although they remained slightly lower than their normal levels as a result of a consumer behaviour change with the move from brick-and-mortar to digital gambling.
Some Gambler Have Been Willing to Try New Gambling Products during Covid-19 Lockdown
The UK gambling regulator’s previous analysis of the number of gambling activities undertaken by consumers on a year-on-year basis showed that British customers shifted became more interested in a larger number of activities over the last year.
A slight decline in the active players’ participation rates in more than one activity was registered in May 2020. The UKGC, however, reminded that engagement in a larger number of activities can lead to problem gambling. researchers also collected data on whether local customers participated in gambling sessions featuring one vertical only. According to the results of the research, the majority of sessions (88%) were single activity sessions, which basically means that most customers do not tend to get involved in multiple gambling activities within a single session.
The lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic has led to changes in some gamblers’ choice when it comes to gambling products. According to the YouGov report, approximately 31% of UK gamblers confirmed they have tried at least one gambling activity for the first time during the lockdown.
The report also showed that the trend of customers switching from retail to online gambling services has remained relatively law. It turned out that less than 2% of the people that gambled over the past for weeks, who participated in the YouGov survey in the middle of May 2020, said that during that period, they had placed bets on the Internet on some activities that they previously took part in land-based establishments. Besides, only 2% of the gamblers confirmed that they had signed up to at least one online gambling site during the period.
Information provided by online gambling companies showed that a decline in the number of players who have been active in each vertical has been registered, with the exception of real-event betting. Slots were another gambling sector vertical that registered growth in May.
As the UK Gambling Commission explained combined factors during the coronavirus lockdown, including a reduction in the number of active players that was registered for most verticals, meant that the average amount spent per a single player increased across all verticals in April and May. Still, a relatively small percentage of the adults surveyed (8%) said they had either decreased the time or money they spend on gambling over the period. In comparison, 3% of the surveyed adults confirmed they had spent more time or money than they used to on gambling or had gambled for the first time in their lives.
When taking into account the demographics factor, younger people between 18 and 34 years of age seem to be significantly more likely to boost the time or money they spend on at least one gambling activity, or to get engaged with a new form of gambling.
The average gambling session length reported by companies has remained unchanged in April and May 2020. The overall number of sessions that lasted over one hour saw a slight decline to 2,085,023, while an increase was registered in the total number of sessions.
- Author
Olivia Cole
