Sunday, November 6, 2011 : Growth in remote gambling attributable to National Lottery’s increased online business
The UK Gambling Commission's quarterly gambling participation survey results were released this week. The omnibus surveys conducted by ICM Research were based on two distinctive sets of questions directed at a sample of 4 000 nationally representative respondents for each set of questions.
The first set of questions measured participation in all types of gambling activity (including by remote means); while the second set measured participation in remote forms of gambling (computer, mobile phone or interactive/digital TV). From March 2010 the remote gambling participation survey questions was amended to ask respondents whether they have gambled in the ‘past four weeks’, as opposed to the ‘last month’ as in previous quarters. This was done to provide consistency with the all gambling participation questions.
Key findings of the survey:
All gambling participation (including by remote means), an average of figures for December 2010, March 2011, June 2011 and September 2011:
– 57.1 percent participated in at least one form of gambling in the previous four weeks (2010: 55.5 percent; 2009: 55.2 percent).
– The most popular gambling activity was National Lottery tickets (47.0 percent), followed by National Lottery scratchcards (11.6 percent) and tickets for society or other good cause lotteries (10.5 percent).
– Betting on horse races (4.6 percent), gambling on fruit or slot machines (3.5 percent), buying bingo cards or tickets at a bingo hall (3.2 percent), and private betting with family, friends or colleagues (3.2 percent) were the next most popular activities.
– Those participating in gambling were more likely to be male than female, and were more likely to be aged over 45.
Remote gambling participation over the year to September 2011, an average of figures for December 2010, March 2011, June 2011 and September 2011)
– 11.9 percent had participated in at least one form of remote gambling in the previous four weeks, around half of these had participated just in National Lottery products (2010: 11.1 percent; 2009: 10.4 percent; 2008: 9.7 percent; 2007: 8.8 percent and 2006: 7.2 percent).
– The growth in participation in remote gambling is explained largely by increased online participation in the National Lottery.
– If those only playing National Lottery products remotely are excluded, 5.6 percent of respondents had participated in remote gambling in the year to September 2011 (2010: 5.7 percent; 2009: 5.7 percent; 2008: 5.6 percent; 2007: 5.2 percent and 2006: 5.1 percent).
– 9.5 percent of respondents had remotely purchased tickets for the National Lottery draw in the previous four weeks (either only or in addition to other types of gambling activity).
– Those participating in remote gambling were more likely to be male than female, and were more likely to be aged 18-44.
– Remote gambling via a computer, laptop or handheld device was most popular (10.6 percent of all respondents), followed by gambling via mobile phone (2.9 percent) and interactive/digital TV (1.5 percent).
The full results of the survey can be accessed at :
http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/pdf/Survey%20data%20on%20gambling%20participation%20-%20October%202011.pdf