Britain sees fall in 18-24 gambling participation

Operators in Britain are failing to attract the younger generation after online gambling participation among 18-24 year-olds fell for a second successive year, a new survey by the Gambling Commission has shown.

The survey, which was carried out by research firm Populus for the year to June, found 10% of 18-24 year-olds had gambled online during the four weeks prior to being surveyed – excluding those that only played National Lottery.

That figure was down on the 12% recorded over the previous year and compares even more unfavourably to the 17% returned following the 2013-14 survey.

The survey also found the next three older age brackets had seen an annual rise in participation, with online gambling prevalence gradually increasing up to the age of 54.

Participation within both the 25-34 and 35-44 age brackets was up from 12% to 14%, while the 45-54 age band showed the biggest jump, rising from 10% to 16%.

Overall participation was up from 9% to 11% with both men (11% to 14%) and women (7% to 9%) seeing increases in participation.

The numbers appear to suggest online operators and products are failing to resonate with younger people, with online gambling increasingly more prevalent among the older generation.

Speaking to EGR, gambling consultant Steve Donoughue said the figures should serve as a wake-up call to the industry.

“I think this may be the first actual proof that we’re seeing a step change in what younger customers are wanting,” Donoughue said.

“Although it’s probably already a clich? to mention Pok?mon Go, it shows that a generation brought up on console games with graphics decades ahead of ours find games that entertain and they can interact with more appealing.

“Consolidation in software supply is coming home to roost,” he added.

However, Global Betting & Gaming Consultants CEO Warwick Bartlett said the industry had no need to panic with a fall in online gambling participation among the younger generation “entirely rational behaviour”.

“The fact that gambling has become stigmatised by the various social responsibility campaigns, the young probably feel that gambling is not ‘cool’,” Bartlett said.

“But as they grow older they will become slightly more cynical with government campaigns that tell them what to eat, drink and whether to gamble, and will do it anyway.

“The young are rightly interested in dating, music, cars, movies, clubs, socialising and fashion,” he added. “It is only when they become bored with this, settle down, find their income is beating the mortgage payments that they start to gamble.”

The survey also found those who did gamble online were doing so more frequently with those betting twice or more a week up from 13% last year to 24% this year and those betting less than once a month down from 37% to 21%.

The results were the combination of surveys conducted once each quarter by Populus, with sample sizes said to be “robust”.