The Numbers Game – Gambling Demographics in 2018

Posted by Harry Kane on Monday, February 5, 2018

In the days when consoles dominated the gaming market, this was considered to be a young person’s domain. As the market has evolved and online gaming has become increasingly dominant, however, the typical player demographic has changed beyond almost all recognition.

This is particularly true in the online gambling space, where older players are taking centre stage and driving the bulk of the expenditure in the market.

In this article, we’ll look at the typical gambling demographic as we enter 2018, and ask how this changes across specific disciplines.

The Market Size – A Brief Overview

Before we delve into the typical demographics that define the online and offline gambling markets, it’s important to consider the overall size of this space.

The online market enjoyed exponential growth in the year ending September 2016, growing to account for a staggering 33% of the overall gambling industry. Not only is this overall market share likely to increase further in the year ahead, but a gross gambling yield (GGY) of £4.5 billion highlights the growing popularity of virtual gameplay in the modern age.

It’s also interesting to note that gambling is becoming an increasingly popular past-time throughout the UK, as the number of active players continues to rise year-on-year. At present, more than 73% of the UK population have gambled during the last 12 months, while the corresponding global figure inched up to 51% as recently as 2016.

When it comes to online and mobile gambling specifically, there were around 17 million active accounts registered at the end of 2014. This is a number that continues to increase incrementally each year, particularly as the available range of online games develops greater diversity and operators utilise data to tailor their promotions and unique value propositions.

Creating the Modern Gambler Profile – Gender, Age and More

As we can see, the exponential growth of online and mobile gaming has defined the industry during the last decade, while an increasingly diverse player-base has also enabled offline gambling to remain competitive. The sheer pace of change in the industry as a whole has certainly altered the typical player demographic, in terms of everything from age and gender to earning capacity. The first consideration is gender, as we’ve already confirmed that video gaming and corporeal gambling were once almost exclusive to male players. This perception has changed considerably during the last 10 years, however, as female players have become increasingly influential across every conceivable channel. By 2011, 49% of the global gaming audience consisted of women, while three years later this number had increased incrementally to 52%.

This left females established as the dominant gaming gender, which seemed to come as a huge surprise to many of the industry’s experts.

If we focus on the gambling industry, we notice that a similar (but not identical) trend has gripped the gambling industry in the UK. While women have definitely become far more seminal players within this marketplace (the number of female gamblers is thought to have increased by a staggering 80% between 2004 and 2014), they still only account for an estimated 43% of the overall audience. Male gamblers contribute the remaining 57%, while this demographic remains particularly dominant across casino games such as roulette, blackjack and poker.

So, while women are marginally more active when it comes to niche gambling activities such as bingo and scratchcards (females account for 12% and 25% of players in these spaces respectively), they have a little way to go before they wield the same influence as men in the industry.

It’s also interesting to note that female and male players boast entirely different behaviours when gambling, and this also impacts on the level of influence that they’re able to wield within the industry. More specifically, women tend to play for longer stretches of time while placing smaller wagers, establishing them as casual gamblers who consider this as a relaxing pastime. In total, female gamblers play for a mean average of 71.5 days per year.

Conversely, men play more frequently and gamble for a mean average of 115.2 days per annum. They also tend to place higher value wagers, as they typically play in shorter bursts and are more likely to be in pursuit of large jackpots and progressive wins. This is an important consideration for operators, while it certainly reaffirms the suggestion that the gender profile of a typical, modern day gambler would be male (although not conclusively).

Then we come to the average age of the gambling demographic, which is also the subject of numerous misperceptions, half-truths and outdated stereotypes. As we’ve already said, we tend to think of gamers and gamblers as being young, adult males, bit gambling prevalence surveys conducted during the last decade reveal a different and altogether more complicated story.

In simple terms, operators have seen the activity levels among all age demographics increase incrementally since 2010. This highlights the level of growth within the gambling sector, while it also proves that operators have successfully targeted the mainstream market during this time.

Beyond these headline statistics, however, it’s interesting to note that the 55-64 age demographic is thought to spend the most time gambling in the modern age. This demographic also invests the most money into gambling activities, and these figures should come as no surprise given that people of this age are among the wealthiest in the UK and are typically approaching their retirement.

They are also less likely to have young children occupying their attentions, affording them more downtime to spend as they wish.

This demographic is flanked closely by the 35-44 and 45-54 age groups respectively, who are typically able to boast higher spending power than younger adults. These groups have also seen their numbers swell more considerable since 2007, thanks primarily to the proliferation of online and mobile gambling opportunities. Make no mistake; gamblers aged between 25 and 54 are the most likely to gamble remotely, and we expect these demographics to become increasingly dominant over the course of the next decade.

Interestingly, the 16-24 age group is the least likely to gamble, along with the 75 years and older demographic. Now, while we can argue that the first group’s numbers are skewed by the fact that anyone under the 18 is prohibited from gambling, the lack of activity here shows that neither on or offline wagering can be considered a young persons’ game in 2018.

All things considered, we would estimate the profile age for a modern day gambler is between 55 and 64, although this would probably need to be lowered slightly when considering online gambling as a standalone entity. In this instance, the profile age would probably be between 35 and 44, and given the growing prevalence of online gambling it’s likely that the average participant will become younger in the years ahead.

What Аre the Other Profile Behaviours?

While gender and age are key demographic considerations, it’s worth asking whether there are any other behavioural trends that define the modern gambler in the UK. The short answer is that that there are, and each of these add depth and layers to the profile that we’re trying to build.

Across both genders, it’s estimated that 78% of all gamblers are in paid work, and while this may seem obvious it at least reaffirms that there is some semblance of a responsible gambling culture in the UK. Similarly, the typical gambler has at least a rudimentary level of education, with 76% of participants having earned GCSE qualifications and above.

A growing number also boast college educations, while an estimated 79% work in what would typically be classed as lower supervisor or technical job roles. These roles often demand clearly defined academic skill-sets and a willingness to assume responsibility, so they usually offer a competitive rate of remuneration. This creates the type of disposable income that can be used to fund gambling activity, so it’s definitely an important consideration when determining the dominant gambler profile.

Earlier in the piece, we also touched on how certain demographics favour specific gaming experiences, with female players known to dominate the bingo and scratchcard markets. The same principle can be applied to every single gambling activity, with online poker offering a particularly relevant example at present.

There’s no doubt that online and video poker has endured a challenging 10 years, as the demand for this has declined while games such as slots, blackjack and roulette have enjoyed exponential growth. Online poker has certainly lost traction among the emerging generation of younger, casual gamblers, primarily because it lacks the diversity, novelty and opportunistic nature of other games.

Despite this, recent research conducted by the Grosvenor casino chain suggests that online poker is now becoming increasingly popular among seniors and the 55-64 age demographic. In a bid to identify some of the major poker trends within the UK, the survey took in the opinion of 2,000 respondents and found that 75% of those aged over 55 preferred online gameplay over the more traditional, bricks-and-mortar alternative. So, while this demographic have been relatively slow to embrace mobile gambling, they are increasingly active through their PC or laptop.

This demographic is also narrowing the gap on younger players when choosing to play online, as the figure of 75% compares well with the 86% of 18-24 year olds who prefer virtual gameplay. This suggests that a growing number of older gamblers are making the transition online, which has certainly been a key factor in elevating the average age of gambling enthusiasts in the UK.

Online slots are also a fascinating area of study, particularly given their incredible rate of growth during the last 10 years. This niche generated a staggering £1.8 billion by itself in the year ending September 2016, while its activity levels have also increased by more than 300% since 2007.

Slots also boast the most diverse gameplay options on the market, thanks to the deployment of themed games and various, pop-culture icons. This has created a market that actively welcomes both male and female players, which in turn has triggered a shift in typical gambler demographics through the years.

Interestingly, a previous study in the U.S. found that the typical profile of a slot gamer was a female home-owner, aged between 55 and 60 and backed by a college education. The profile player also boasted an estimated household income of $55,000, with these findings debunking many of the negative and unfounded stereotypes surrounding slot games and the gambling industry as a whole.

These findings seem to reaffirm everything that our own research has uncovered, with the modern-day, UK gambler financially secure, approaching retirement age and in possession of a higher education. While UK figures still suggest that male players are more active in the online slot market, there’s no doubt that women are narrowing this gap while developers are also creating a far wider range of themed games to cater for this audience.

The Last Word – Who is the Typical UK Gambler?

On a final note, it’s fair to surmise that the modern gambling industry has benefitted from a significant increase in the number of casual players. This demographic are by far the largest segment of gamblers, with low-time and non high-spend players accounting for a staggering 85% of the marketplace.

This completes our modern-day profile, and there’s no doubt that we’ve been left with a demographic make-up that defies many of the markets established stereotypes.

To summarise, the typical UK gambler is aged between 55 and 64, and despite the rising influence of female players they are still more likely to be male (although this could well change in the next decade or so). Similarly, today’s profile gambler tends to play casually and benefits from significantly higher levels of disposable income, while they are also well-educated and work in relatively senior, well-paid job roles.

Of course, it suits the narrative of anti-gambling bodies to suggest that players are typically younger, ill-educated and likely to spend money that they cannot afford to lose. The fact remains that this could not be further from the truth, however, with the modern gambler far more responsible and unlikely to ever commit capital that is not a part of their disposable income levels.