- Print the full document
- Save the page as a HTML document to your device
- Save the page as a PDF file
- Bookmark it - it will always be the latest version of this document
This box is not visible in the printed version.
Consumer experiences and attitudes to Free Bets & Bonuses
Data from an online survey around consumer experiences and attitudes towards Free Bets & Bonuses
Published: 15 February 2022
Last updated: 19 July 2023
This version was printed or saved on: 7 December 2024
Online version: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/about-us/guide/consumer-experiences-and-attitudes-to-free-bets-and-bonuses
Overview: ## Introduction and about the Online Survey
The Commission collects in depth data from online gamblers about their online gambling behaviour via a quarterly online tracker, conducted by Yonder Consulting as part of their online omnibus. Data is collected on c.8,000 adults aged 18+ in Great Britain per year1. The online survey sample is sourced through Yonder’s panel, and the sample is subject to quotas in-line with those used for the Commission’s quarterly telephone survey. The variables used for weighting are age, gender, region, social grade, tenure and working status2.
In June 2021 we posed questions to gamblers on the survey to learn more about the prevalence and impact of free bets and bonus offers ('incentives'). The questions asked gamblers to recall the types of incentives received, as well as the frequency and volume with which they were received. In addition, those who had received incentives were asked about the impact of receiving incentives on their gambling behaviour.
Incentive types & how they are received
Gamblers in the survey were first asked whether they had received an incentive to gamble from a gambling company in the last 12 months. They were asked which type of incentive they had received, and how it was received.
Figure 1
QIncentiveHow. We are interested in finding out whether you have received incentives to gamble from a gambling company in the last 12 months. Which, if any, of the following types of gambling incentive have you been sent from a gambling company, and how was it sent to you?
Data from chart
- NET received an incentive - 65%
- free bets/spins - 58%
- sign up offers - 54%
- reminders to gamble with a bonus included - 41%
- other - 19%.
Base: n=c.1500 Respondents aged 18+ who have gambled in the past 12 months.
Figure 2
QIncentiveHow. We are interested in finding out whether you have received incentives to gamble from a gambling company in the last 12 months. Which, if any, of the following types of gambling incentive have you been sent from a gambling company, and how was it sent to you?
Data from chart
- NET received an incentive - 65%
- email - 47%
- text message - 17%
- gambling app notification - 16%
- non-gambling app notification - 8%
- targeted advertisement on social media - 21%
- targeted advertisement on a search engine (e.g. Google or Bing) - 15%.
Base: n=c.1500 Respondents aged 18+ who have gambled in the past 12 months
Incentives were mostly received via email (47%), with this being more commonly recalled than any other method. Gamblers were least likely to report receiving an incentive through a non-gambling app notification (8%).
Incentives received for different gambling activities
Respondents who had reported receiving an incentive to gamble were also asked which activity they received the incentive for.
Figure 3
QIncentiveAct. You mentioned that you have been offered incentives to play on a gambling activity. Which of the following activities have you been sent incentives for in the last 12 months?
Data from chart
- online betting - 73%
- online slots - 39%
- online bingo - 37%
- online casino (excluding slots) - 30%
- The National Lottery (including draws, scratchcards or instant win games) - 23%
- charity lottery of other lottery (including draws, scratchcards, or instant win games) - 15%
- in person betting - 6%
- in person slots - 4%
- in person bingo - 3%
- in person casino (excluding slots) - 1%
- other - 1%.
Respondents who reported receiving an incentive were most likely to report receiving them for online betting activities (73%), with other online activities such as slots (39%), bingo (37%) and casino (30%) being most frequently incentivized after that.
On average, across all activities, respondents reported receiving seven incentives to gamble within the last seven days. The activities which consumers received the highest quantity of incentives for were online slots, online casino and the National Lottery.
Frequency of incentives received
Following this, respondents who had received incentives in certain ways were asked how often they receive incentives through that particular medium.
Figure 4
QIncentiveFreq. How often have you received incentives or offers to play through the following methods?
Data from chart
| Text message | A notification through a gambling app | A targeted advertisement on social media | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily | 7% | 8% | 9% | 8% |
| NET: at least once a week | 51% | 58% | 58% | 54% |
| NET: at least once a month | 84% | 85% | 88% | 86% |
| Base size | 696 | 249 | 233 | 295 |
Across each platform, the frequency of receiving incentives appears to be stable. Most respondents (between 84-88%) report receiving an incentive at least once a month.
Figure 5
QIncentiveFreq. How often have you received incentives or offers to play through the following methods? Proportion reporting receiving incentives daily.
Data from chart
| Receive incentive daily | Base size | |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 10% | 879 |
| Male | 8% | 464 |
| Female | 12% | 415 |
| Receive incentive daily | Base size | |
|---|---|---|
| 18 to 24 | 8% | 108 |
| 25 to 34 | 16% | 184 |
| 35 to 44 | 11% | 173 |
| 45 to 54 | 9% | 185 |
| 55 to 64 | 7% | 110 |
| 65 and over | 2% | 119 |
| Receive incentive daily | Base size | |
|---|---|---|
| Non-problem gambler | 4% | 467 |
| Low risk gambler | 7% | 162 |
| Moderate risk gambler | 7% | 121 |
| Problem gambler | 35% | 129 |
Base: n=879 Past 12-month gamblers aged 18+ who report receiving incentives via email, text message, a notification through a gambling app or a targeted advertisement on social media.
It can be seen in Figure 5 that problem gamblers were by far most likely to report receiving incentives to gamble daily (35%).
Attitudes to incentives
Lastly, gamblers who had received an incentive to gamble were asked to rate their agreement with a number of statements relating to attitudes and impact of gambling incentives.
Figure 6.
QIncentiveImpact. The following are a series of statements which relate to gambling incentives. Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with each one.
Data from chart
| NET Agree | Neither agree or disagree | NET Disagree | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free bets/bonus encourage me to gamble more than I want to | 31% | 17% | 50% |
| Free bets/ bonuses don't change the amount I gamble | 61% | 15% | 21% |
| I gambled for the first time as a result of receiving a bonus offer | 28% | 11% | 59% |
| I gambled with a gambling company I haven't used before as a result of receiving a bonus offer | 35% | 11% | 51% |
| I started to gamble on a new activity as a result of receiving a bonus offer | 28% | 13% | 57% |
| I restarted gambling after taking a break as a result of receiving a bonus offer | 21% | 14% | 63% |
| I use free offers, but don't spend any more on gambling | 37% | 17% | 44% |
Base: n=958 past 12-month gamblers aged 18+ who have received an incentive to gamble
Most respondents felt that their gambling was not influenced by receiving incentives (61%). However, 31% of respondents agreed that receiving free bets or bonus offers encouraged them to gamble more than they wanted to.
Figure 7
QIncentiveImpact. The following are a series of statements which relate to gambling incentives. Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with each one.
Data from chart
| NET Agree | Neither agree or disagree | NET Disagree | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I like receiving free bets/bonus offers to gamble | 39% | 18% | 41% |
| I receive too many incentives to gamble | 47% | 22% | 27% |
| I would prefer not to receive free bets and bonus offers | 48% | 18% | 31% |
Base: n=958 past 12 month gamblers aged 18+ who have received an incentive to gamble.
Incentives appeared to be liked and disliked by consumers in equal proportions, with 39% agreeing and 41% disagreeing with the statement ‘I like receiving free bets/bonus offers to gamble’. Almost half of consumers (47%) feel they receive too many incentives to gamble, and 48% agree that they would prefer not to receive them.
Impact Statements by Demographic
This section of analysis outlines NET Agree responses to ‘Attitudes to Incentives’ broken down by age, gender and PGSI status.
Gender
| Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I like receiving free bets/bonus offers to gamble | 39% | 45% | 32% |
| I receive too many incentives to gamble | 47% | 46% | 49% |
| Free bets/bonus encourage me to gamble more than I want to | 31% | 31% | 30% |
| Free bets/bonuses don't change the amount I gamble | 61% | 65% | 56% |
| I gambled for the first time as a result of receiving a bonus offer | 28% | 24% | 33% |
| I gambled with a gambling company I haven't used before as a result of receiving a bonus offer | 35% | 39% | 31% |
| I started to gamble on a new activity as a result of receiving a bonus offer | 28% | 30% | 25% |
| I restarted gambling after taking a break as a result of receiving a bonus offer | 21% | 21% | 21% |
| I use free offers, but don't spend any more on gambling | 37% | 37% | 36% |
| I would prefer not to receive free bets and bonus offers | 48% | 43% | 55% |
| Base Size | 958 | 504 | 454 |
Age
| 18 to 24 | 25 to 34 | 35 to 44 | 45 to 54 | 55 to 64 | 65 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I like receiving free bets/bonus offers to gamble | 52% | 53% | 54% | 36% | 21% | 16% |
| I receive too many incentives to gamble | 53% | 34% | 50% | 47% | 55% | 52% |
| Free bets/bonus encourage me to gamble more than I want to | 39% | 46% | 39% | 27% | 19% | 8% |
| Free bets/bonuses don't change the amount I gamble | 54% | 50% | 59% | 61% | 70% | 76% |
| I gambled for the first time as a result of receiving a bonus offer | 41% | 45% | 35% | 24% | 11% | 9% |
| I gambled with a gambling company I haven't used before as a result of receiving a bonus offer | 51% | 49% | 48% | 30% | 19% | 11% |
| I started to gamble on a new activity as a result of receiving a bonus offer | 39% | 43% | 36% | 29% | 9% | 4% |
| I restarted gambling after taking a break as a result of receiving a bonus offer | 35% | 32% | 26% | 18% | 9% | 5% |
| I use free offers, but don't spend any more on gambling | 48% | 49% | 40% | 31% | 25% | 24% |
| I would prefer not to receive free bets and bonus offers | 40% | 37% | 37% | 47% | 66% | 70% |
| Base Size | 112 | 191 | 182 | 197 | 133 | 143 |
PGSI status
| Non problem gambler | Low risk gambler | Moderate risk gambler | Problem gambler | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I like receiving free bets/bonus offers to gamble | 30% | 37% | 58% | 62% |
| I receive too many incentives to gamble | 45% | 42% | 46% | 63% |
| Free bets/bonus encourage me to gamble more than I want to | 14% | 26% | 57% | 77% |
| Free bets/bonuses don't change the amount I gamble | 71% | 56% | 45% | 45% |
| I gambled for the first time as a result of receiving a bonus offer | 15% | 28% | 41% | 65% |
| I gambled with a gambling company I haven't used before as a result of receiving a bonus offer | 23% | 33% | 59% | 64% |
| I started to gamble on a new activity as a result of receiving a bonus offer | 12% | 26% | 51% | 67% |
| I restarted gambling after taking a break as a result of receiving a bonus offer | 9% | 20% | 39% | 53% |
| I use free offers, but don't spend any more on gambling | 35% | 38% | 36% | 42% |
| I would prefer not to receive free bets and bonus offers | 54% | 43% | 33% | 48% |
| Base Size | 523 | 178 | 124 | 133 |
With regard to problem gamblers, the data suggests that they generally like receiving free bets and bonus offers, with 62% agreeing. Nevertheless, they were most likely to agree that incentives encourage them to gamble more than they want to (77%), and were least likely to agree that incentives don’t change the amount they gamble (45%).
Those in younger age groups (aged 18-44) appear to follow a somewhat similar pattern. They are more likely to agree that they like receiving free bets/bonus offers compared to those aged 45+. Those aged 25-34 are most likely (compared to other age groups) to agree that free bets/bonus offers encourage them to gamble more than they want to (46%), shortly followed by 18-24 year olds and 35-44 year olds (both 39%).
Appendix - Survey questions
(ASK ALL PAST 12 MONTH GAMBLERS)
QIncentiveHow. We are interested in finding out whether you have received incentives to gamble from a gambling company in the last 12 months. Which, if any, of the following types of gambling incentive have you ever been sent from a gambling company, and how was it sent to you?
(MULTI CODE, AT LEAST ONE RESPONSE PER COLUMN)
| Free bets/spins | Sign up offers | Reminders to gamble with a bonus included | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes - Through an email | ||||
| Yes - Through a text message | ||||
| Yes – Through a notification through a gambling app | ||||
| Yes – Through a notification through a non-gambling app | ||||
| Yes - Through a targeted advertisement on social media | ||||
| Yes - Through a targeted advertisement on a search engine (e.g. google or bing) | ||||
| No – I have never received this type of incentive (EXCLUSIVE) |
(ASK ALL WHO HAVE BEEN OFFERED AN INCENTIVE TO PLAY IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS AT QIncentiveHow)
QIncentiveAct. You mentioned that you have been offered incentives to play on a gambling activity. Which of the following activities have you been sent incentives for in the last 12 months? Please select all that apply:
- National Lottery (including draws, scratchcards or instant win games)
- charity lottery or other lottery (including draws, scratchcards or instant win games)
- online betting
- in-person betting
- online bingo
- in-person bingo
- online slots
- in-person slots
- online casino (excluding slots)
- in-person casino (excluding slots)
- other (please specify).
(ASK ALL WHO HAVE BEEN OFFERED AN INCENTIVE TO PLAY THROUGH AN EMAIL/TEXT MESSAGE/GAMBLING APP/SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS)
QIncentiveFreq. How often have you received incentives or offers to play through email/text message/gambling apps/targeted advertisements on social media (SHOW FOR EACH SELECTED AT QIncentiveHow)?
- text message
- a notification through a gambling app
- a targeted advertisement on social media
How often
- daily
- several times a week
- at least once a week
- several times a month
- at least once a month
- several times a year
- at least once a year.
(ASK ALL WHO HAVE BEEN OFFERED AN INCENTIVE TO PLAY IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS AT QIncentiveHow)
QIncentiveQty. You said you have been offered an incentive to gamble in the last 12 months. How many of these incentives have you received in the past 7 days? (ASK FOR EACH ACTIVITY SELECTED AT QIncentiveAct)
(NUMERIC, ALLOW ZERO)
(ASK ALL WHO HAVE BEEN OFFERED AN INCENTIVE TO PLAY IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS AT QIncentiveHow)
QIncentiveImpact. The following are a series of statements which relate to gambling incentives. Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with each one.
- I like receiving free bets/bonus offers to gamble
- I receive too many incentives to gamble
- free bets/bonus encourage me to gamble more than I want to
- free bets/bonuses don’t change the amount I gamble
- I gambled for the first time as a result of receiving a bonus offer
- I gambled with a gambling company I haven’t used before as a result of receiving a bonus offer
- I started to gamble on a new activity as a result of receiving a bonus offer
- I restarted gambling after taking a break
- I use free offers, but don’t spend any more on gambling
- I would prefer not to receive free bets and bonus offers
- strongly agree
- slightly agree
- either agree or disagree
- lightly disagree
- strongly disagree
- don’t Know
Footnotes
1Please see base sizes beneath respective charts for details on the exact base sizes for the different questions asked.
2 Weighting is derived from The Publishers Audience Measurement Company (PAMCO) data based on a face-to-face random probability sample.