Gambling Commission data shows virtual sports boom was fleeting trend
Virtual sports participation dropped by 48% between April and May 2020 as real sport made its long-awaited return
The Covid-19 virtual sports betting boom was just a momentary trend, according to the latest lockdown data published by the Gambling Commission (UKGC).
The UKGC this week published figures showing the impact of the Covid-19 lockdown on gambling behaviour, reflecting the two months of full lockdown in April and May.
It was collected from the UK’s largest online operators, covering approximately 80% of the market, as well as via YouGov’s Covid-19 tracker.
The new data highlights an increase in real-event betting and sports betting due to the return of top-tier sport, which has coincided with a nosedive in virtual sports participation.
The virtual sports vertical enjoyed a 44% uptick from March 2020 to April 2020 as sports-hungry customers sought out alternatives to cancelled or postponed real-life events.
Gambling Commission data displays a peak of 558,067 active virtual sports players in April 2020, up from 388,786 in March 2020.
The March 2020 figure represents a staggering 88% increase from 2019, although participation soon plummeted as real sports returned, following a 48% drop-off between April 2020 and May 2020.
May 2020 participation appears to have normalised, having peaked at 287,777.
It is worth noting that a player must be active across more than one vertical to be recorded in UKGC data, so the figure is not a true representation of the overall number of virtual sports players.