UK Gambling Commission report focuses on online trends

The UK Gambling Commission has released new figures which it claims offer better insight into online gambling behaviour in Britain.

Accompanied by easily digestible infographics the report cover participation in gambling, perceptions of gambling and rates of problem gambling.

The research for the first time also includes information about how people gamble online – the devices they use to gamble, where they gamble, and the number of accounts they use.

Findings include:

* Participation in gambling has fallen from 57 percent in 2012 to 45 percent in 2015 – this can be attributed to National Lottery draw participation dropping from 46 percent to 32 percent in the same period;

* National Lottery draws remain by far the most popular gambling activity followed by other lotteries and scratchcards;

* At 0.5 percent rates of problem gambling are static – 2015 (0.5 percent) and 2014 (0.5 percent);

* Those aged 18-24 are most likely to be problem gamblers (1.1 percent), and 1 percent of men were problem gamblers in 2015 compared with 0 percent of women;

* 25-34 year olds are most likely to use mobile and tablet devices, bet in-play and gamble outside of the home. Laptops are the preferred devices among all age groups for online gambling while those aged under 45 are most likely to use mobiles or tablets to gamble in addition to laptops.

Paul Hope, Gambling Commission programme director, said: “It’s vital that we monitor gambling trends and behaviour across society.

“Reports such as these are essential for us when developing regulations and for the Government when developing public policies on gambling.”