Latest Research: British Gamers Prefer Lottery to All Other Forms of Gambling

UK gamers prefer National Lottery to all other forms of gambling according to the latest research.

The United Kingdom Gambling Commission has just released results of their omnibus surveys on activities under British gambling laws. The market surveys have been carried out by ICM Research, a renowned company specializing in accurate and up-to-date collection of information.

The main focus of the research was to find out just what type of gambling activity is the most popular one among United Kingdom’s population. The results were quite interesting to say the least, and contrary to the popular belief, land-based and online sportsbooks in the United Kingdom are not the most popular gambling destinations for local gamers.

Results of the surveys

The survey was based on the data from all four quarterly reports leading up to March 2014. The researchers asked ordinary people if and where have they gambled in the past four weeks prior to the survey. Interestingly enough, the most popular gambling pastime in the United Kingdom in the National Lottery.

Results of the recent gambling survey in the UK have been revealed

• Gamers under British gambling laws prefer lottery

• Land-based wagering is a huge favorite among sports bettors

• Only 12 percent combine online and land-based gambling activities

Over half, 56 percent to be exact, of the respondents replied that they have indeed participated in some form of gambling activity during the past month. This figure is only 1 percent lower than the same data from a survey take a year ago.

The majority of those 56 percent who have admitted to gambling, were males. Overall the percentage of gambling men was 61, while only 51 percent of women who responded to the surveys said they have also “tossed a coin” in the last month.

As for the online gambling activity, 16 percent of the respondents said they used internet offerings for the gambling needs and desires, which is also 1 percent down from last year’s survey. Once again male participation was much higher: almost double with 21 percent compared to 11 percent of women gambling online.

This actually explains, why online gambling sites in the United Kingdom continue to target men and design their marketing campaigns towards male population of the country. Naturally, online sports betting just like land-based wagering on sports is still a man’s game in the UK, there’s no doubt about that.

National Lottery’s popularity

According to the results of the survey by ICM Research for the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, the most popular gambling activity is the lottery. 41 percent of respondents revealed they keep their faith in the National Lottery.

Other lotteries also get attention: 13 percent of the approached people, said they put their gambling money there. Scratchcards are also still popular with 10 percent of respondents admitting to have scratches away for luck. The market share of horse racing betting is quite low – only 7 percent of respondents said they favored a particular horse at a racetrack.

However, the number of gamers choosing National Lottery as their primary destination is decreasing. The ticket prices have just gone up to GBP 2 surely causing the numbers to drop from 46 percent in 2012 to 43 percent in 2013.

Sportsbook situation

The recent changes of gambling regulations in the UK have caused many sportsbooks to announce their plans to reduce their networks of high-street betting shops. Increased taxes, and more cumbersome registration procedures in the hands of local authorities are to blame for that.

Naturally, this will have a huge effect on sports betting habits in the country. A whopping number of 71 percent of respondents said they were always betting on sports at land-based shops only. Wagering at a bookies window, one-on-one with a teller is the most popular type of betting of them all.

To conclude the results, 17 percent of respondents revealed that they enjoy gambling both at land-based facilities and online at the same time. While gambling enthusiasts which prefer to stay indoors and choose online destinations only is limited to 12 percent. The most popular types of gambling for them are sports betting and spread betting in particular, and various forms of online casino gambling.