Why Are More People Now Gambling Online?

Posted by Harry Kane on Friday, March 30, 2018

Earlier on this blog, we talked about the idea that offline gambling may be at the beginning of a pronounced and ultimately irreversible decline. There’s plenty of support for this assertion, of course, with increasingly stringent regulations and the technologically advanced nature of online gaming providing extremely difficult challenges.

According the recent statistics, the end could come even sooner than we originally anticipated, with offline participation declining across the vast majority of gambling activities in the UK.

With this in mind, we take a look at the declining popularity of offline gambling, and ask why so many players are now transitioning online.

What Do the Figures Tell Us?

The findings came as part of the UK Gambling Commission’s (UKGC’s) annual report, which was released at the end of 2017. Overall, they reveal a stark decline in the level of participation in offline gambling activities, with local bingo halls across the length and breadth of the UK suffering the most adverse effects.

More specifically, the number of people frequenting bricks-and-mortar bingo halls fell by a staggering 14.6%, from 85.1% at the end of 2016 to just 70.6% last year. While these figures would be concerning enough by themselves for offline gambling enthusiasts, the UKGC’s findings also suggest that virtual bingo has grown by a similar amount during the same period. In fact, online bingo participation increased from 20.4% to an impressive 39.8% last year, and this represented the single biggest increase in people playing online since 2016.

This has already had a negative impact on the offline bingo and gambling sectors, with the number of bingo halls active in the UK having fallen from 650 to just 350 in the past decade.

Not only does this trend offer a clear insight into the declining popularity of offline bingo, but it’s also indicative of a wider trend across the whole of the industry. Even national lottery draws, which remained the most popular form of offline and in-person gambling throughout 2017 with a participation rate of 75.8%, showcased a year-on-year decline, with 78.8% having took part back in 2016.

Online lottery participation increased by 4.5% during the same period, highlighting that even relatively popular forms of corporeal gambling are losing players to the lure of online casinos and platforms.

Overall, analysis of the UKGC’s data suggests an average of 300,000 people in the UK continue to transition between off and online gambling each year, with more than one-in-five players over the age of 55 now choosing to gamble in the comfort of their own homes.

So Why Is Online Gambling Becoming so Dominant?

It’s hard to argue with these numbers, and there’s no doubt that they provide a compelling argument for the decline of offline gambling and the simultaneous rise of online gameplay. Clearly, players are taking the deliberate decision to switch their attentions online, with even older demographics eschewing offline platforms and lifting the average age of virtual gamblers in the process.

Still, some of the reasons behind this shift are not as obvious as they appear. One of the most interesting is arguably the rise of mobile gaming, which was enough key finding from the UKGC’s 2017 report. It’s estimated that a total of 51% of gamblers played casino games or placed sports bets through their smartphone or tablet last year, for example, and this represented a striking 8% increase compared with 2016’s figures.

So, having tapped into another virtual channel through which players can access their favourite games, online operators have provided far greater accessibility while also appealing to casual and older gamers across the board.

Perhaps another, more controversial reason behind the rising popularity of online gambling is the relatively of regulation within the space. There is currently no limit to how much players can gamble across different games or accounts, for example, while prominent offline channels such as fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) are facing significant caps in the coming months. As a result, players (particularly those who enjoy high stakes games) have far greater flexibility to gamble as they please online and manage their bankroll accordingly.

This was arguably borne out by the fact that the average player held four separate online gambling accounts in 2017, as opposed to just three in the previous year. Clearly, players are leveraging the unique nature of online casinos to gamble freely through various accounts simultaneously, which in turn is minimising the relevance of bricks-and-mortar establishments in the digital age.

The Rise of Authentic Online Gambling

When online gambling first emerged, it struggled to replicate the immersive nature of casino gameplay authentically. This enabled offline casinos and bingo halls to maintain their relevance for a brief period of time, with some even integrating modern technology to enhance their proposition and compete more aggressively with their online rivals.

Incremental improvements in technology and innovation have gradually eroded this natural advantage, however, by creating more authentic online gameplay and sound effects. If you look at online roulette, for example, you’ll see that the game has gradually evolved to replicate the pace of corporeal gameplay, by featuring around two spins per minute. This, when aligned with superior graphics and enhanced, live dealer interaction, has created a virtual casino experience that is genuinely immersive and reminiscent of visiting a land-based establishment.

In the case of slot games, this type of technological advancement has actually created an online gambling experience that’s superior to the offline alternative, with fluid animations, eye-catching visuals and intricate graphics far in advance of upright slots and traditional fruit machines.

The Last Word

When you consider these points in unison, it’s little wonder that the rate of online gambling participation is continuing to increase at the expense of offline channels. In summary, there’s a clear shift towards online gambling across all demographics, even older players who have historically remained loyal to corporeal gameplay.

This is certainly hastening the decline in offline gambling, as while successive generational shifts would have always rendered this obsolete over time, a surprisingly large number of older players are embracing online gameplay ahead of time.

Technology is clearly playing a key role in this, and the full integration of virtual and augmented reality is sure to strike another blow to the popularity of offline gambling in the UK.