New UKGC study: Online sector is still becoming more popular

A new study by the British gambling authority was published last Tuesday. According to the UK Gambling Commission-UKGC for short-gambling on the smartphone and e-bets are on the rise.

Online sector billions of business in Great Britain

Within the study, 8,000 adult British were interviewed about their game behavior. The market research institute Yonder Consulting carried out an analysis based on this data. It turned out that online gambling continues to be more popular. The popularity of the virtual casinos So still rises. With gross game amounts of 5.7 billion GBP-the equivalent of around 6.8 billion euros-the online sector is thus a share of 40% of the total income of the gaming market. While five years ago only 17% of the British surveyed in the period of the period of To have played online previous years, this value in the study this year was 24%. So the value has increased by 7% and thus a good third.

Smartphones are becoming more popular, but not only on the go

In addition, it could be determined that the smartphone for the use of Online gambling game is still very popular. According to the study, around half of all uses of online casinos are done via the smartphone. For players between the ages of 18 and 24, the proportion is even 75%. Older people prefer the smartphone only 14%compared to other online resources. Among other things, this is because most young people have a smartphone these days, in contrast to many older people. In addition, access to virtual gambling is simple. If you have one, the smartphone is almost always there and when you have to wait somewhere or have time at home, then a click and you can play online.

However, not only smartphones are used as an access option. The UKGC emphasizes that “the date […] A picture of online gambling [draw] in which smartphones are the preferred devices, but laptops, PCs and tablets remain important access routes”. However, the overall picture shows that the classic computers – compared to the past few years – are no longer unpopular. And although the smartphone gives access to online gambling everywhere, a large part of the respondents use this access option within their own apartment. On the way, only 20% of the British surveyed played online. It is striking that younger men in particular use this opportunity. According to this, 44% young men followed the game of chance on the way.

But the smartphone threatens competition. According to the study, smart TVs are particularly attractive for the online gambling at home. Such a device had already installed 57% of all British households. Even 10% of the under 24 years of age stated that the survey has already used the modern television for online casino games. The proportion of the up to 34-year-olds was also 8%.

E-bets also add

But it’s not just smart TVs on the rise. More and more people are also attracting betting offers. The younger generation in particular has a certain passion for this. These include live betting that is prohibited in USA for 18 to 24 year olds. According to the study, betting around e-sports are also in great demand in this age group. 36% of those surveyed have given to have an enthusiasm for this form of bets. However, the proportion of all players is only 9%. According to the UKGC, however, the proportion will continue to increase in the coming years. E-bets-according to the UKGC-have been growing of 8.5% per year since 2016.

With the growing uses of online offers, the gaming authority also demands stricter protective measures for players. In this way, the providers should better clarify the players about measures such as self -locked and operational limits. There is a considerable need to catch up. The players would have to know how they could protect themselves from problematic gambling behavior. The advance of the online sector also demands stricter player protection measures.