40 Million People Now Gamble Online in the UK Each Year
According to the number of new and active accounts, it is now estimated that around 40 million people were partaking in online gambling in the UK last year.
It seems that a large number of the population now decides to gamble online in one format or another. A range of pastimes are included; sports betting, slots, bingo, and poker being the main ones.
The Stats
Unsurprisingly, the online gambling sector is the fastest-growing casino sector in the world. In the UK, that trend is certainly mirrored.
Current research intimates that nearly half of all residents in the UK gamble each calendar month. The country’s gambling industry is said to be worth nearly £15 billion a year, with over one-third of that sum coming from online gambling.
The sector has been considered one dominated by older people, though in the United Kingdom, that particular trend is changing. Stats now show that those aged 25-34 are the most active demographic, with 25% of that group taking to online gambling each month.
At the same time, those aged 35 to 54 make up for another 20% of online gambling participants. Nationwide, around 45% of people in the UK gamble every month. Where exactly do people choose to spend their online gambling budget?
Casinos
Online casinos are the most popular gambling niche. Given the variety of options on offer, online casinos are the go-to for many.
Classic table games such as poker and blackjack are among the most popular gambling variants in the country, with some, especially poker, being contained on their own speciality gambling sites.
Live dealer games and those run by Random Number Generators are equally popular, with poker, blackjack, and roulette being present at just about every popular licenced online casino in the market.
Slots are a huge business these days too. The narrative and soundtrack provided by video slots mean they are a form of entertainment in their own right, not just a gambling tool, with developers tripping over themselves to offer new and improved games every single month.
Just one lucky spin on an RNG online slot with a progressive jackpot can land someone a life-changing sum of money, jackpots regularly running into the millions and even topping the amounts offered by popular lotteries.
Bingo is another huge industry in the UK where the game has been played for generations in bricks and mortar bingo halls right across the land.
Sports Betting
Sports betting sites, often stylised as ‘sportsbooks’ as in America, are obviously huge businesses too. Football has now overtaken horse racing as the most popular betting sport in the country, with major tournaments like the Premier League and Champions League attracting tens of millions in bets.
Major horse racing events like the Cheltenham Festival and Royal Ascot bring in more millions, while the Grand National remains Britain’s single most gambled-on event.
The Increasing Popularity of Online Gambling in the UK
So why is online gambling growing in popularity in the United Kingdom? Well, there are a range of reasons.
Online gambling’s increase in user numbers has been somewhat turbocharged over the last year as more and more Britons were confined to their homes during national lockdowns.
Another reason is the clever, albeit sometimes controversial marketing used by casino and sports betting sites. Big promotions and bonuses are a huge draw, while the convenience of being able to place a bet from home rather than having to travel to a casino, betting shop, or bingo hall has made the industry accessible to all.
