UK Gambling Commission 2017 Survey Results

The results are in for the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) gambling participation and perception report for the period January to December 2017. The annual report is the result of around 1000 interviews conducted with random subjects every three months and serves to present a holistic view on how Britain’s citizens prefer to gamble, as well as how they view the current market.

Herewith some of the noteworthy findings contained in the report, highlighting comparisons to the 2016 surveys results:

Online Activity

During an average four-week period, the number of online punters increased from 17% to 18%, however during the same period gamblers across all categories including the UK National lottery, dropped to 45% from 48%.
The average online gambler held four different accounts in 2017, which is one more than the previous year.

Gambling Devices

The laptop is the most commonly used device for online gambling although it has dropped 10% from 2015 to 50% in 2017.
The percentage of punters using their mobile or tablet device to gamble increased by 8% from 43% in 2016.
Desktop punters dropped to 33%, with the male to female participation ratio coming in at 39% to 24%.

Marketing & Advertising

Engagement with online casinos’ social media platforms have dropped down six points from the 2016 survey. This includes Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Instagram. Social media marketing also took a knock, with only 19% (-2) online gamblers reporting that a social media post encouraged them to engage in real money casino activity. Interestingly, this area showed an improvement of four points up to 40% in the 18-24 age group. Older gamblers (55+) are prompted to spend money by other forms of advertising.
Free bets and bonus offers proved to be the most effective advertising tools for online gambling sites, illustrated by a jump of eight points to 40%.

Responsible Gambling

The 2017 survey showed that only 0.8% of the respondents admitted to problem gambling. 3.9% said they were at risk, while 6% made the decision to self-exlude.

Industry Perception

The number of respondents who believe gambling is fair and trustworthy dropped by 1% to 33%, and those that consider gambling to be criminal increased from 39% to 41%.

Commenting on results the report, programme director at the UKGC, Mr Ben Haden, said it is clear that a casino’s reputation for being fair and trustworthy is a major influencing factor when online gamblers decide where to play.