UK online gambling participation edges up

The proportion of UK adults participating in online gambling has risen slightly to 16%, according to the latest figures released by the Gambling Commission.

The percentage represents an increase of 1% on last year’s total of 15%, however the figure falls to just 10% when excluding results for the National Lottery.

The youngest age group, 18-24 year-olds, saw the biggest increase in online gambling participation with 19% having taken part in the activity compared to 15% in the previous year.

Men continued to be the dominant sex when it comes to online gambling with 21% having placed an online wager, a rise of 2% year-on-year, compared to 11% of women.

Sports betting was most common online, with 47% of respondents exclusively placing their bets online compared with 44% in-shop, although 9% of respondents claimed to have used both channels.

Horse racing, however, remains a predominantly in-shop activity with 73% placing bets offline and just 22% via the internet.

The results were based on respondents’ gambling habits over a four-week period, with 56% having revealed they had gambled in some form or another during that timeframe, the majority of which took place offline.

The 35-44 age bracket was most likely to place an online bet, with 21% having done so during the period, a 1% decline on the previous year’s figure.

The survey was carried out by ICM Research which conducted more than 4,000 telephone interviews during March.