Rise in silver fox online gaming in the UK

Figures stripped from a recent UK Gambling Commission study shows that the age 65 and over demographic (also known as “silver foxes”) is becoming increasingly important in online gambling and has grown from 3 percent to 7 percent over the three years ended June 2016.

The trend continues in the next demographic down – the 45 to 54 year-olds, where their participation over the past three years has grown from 8 percent to 16 percent.

A very significant proportion of these players – 49 percent – have indicated that their preferred device for online gambling is not mobile, but laptop devices, with 46 percent also listing desktop machines rather than mobile in their preference.

In fact, only 11 percent said they used a tablet, and almost all of those researched in these two expanding demographics said they preferred to gamble online from the comfort of home.

It appears that time and technology has triggered an evolution in these senior groups, which are displaying a growing preparedness to venture online as the internet becomes ever more a part of the daily life experience.

The Gambling Commission numbers regarding preferred devices are to some extent confirmed by the latest Statista survey which found that laptop use by the 65-74 year-old demographic has increased from 32 percent in 2011 to 47 percent in 2014, with recent indications that the upward trend is continuing.

The older groups tend to be responsible gamblers, it appears from the Commission’s survey; problem gambling numbers for the demographic have declined.

The numbers show a fall in the medium risk category percentage to just 0.1 percent in 2016 – down from 1.3 percent three years ago. The low risk percentage has followed the trend, declining from 1 percent to 0.6 percent since 2013.

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