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Report

Gambling participation in 2019: behaviour, awareness and attitudes

A report providing an overview of consumer gambling behaviour in Great Britain in 2019

Location of online gambling

This section reports data on online gambling behaviour in the year to December 2019, using data collected via the Commission’s quarterly online survey conducted by Populus. Surveys are conducted with people in Great Britain aged 18+. The core questions in the survey ask online gamblers about how and where they gamble online.

To further understand the use of portable devices such as mobile phones and tablets, online gamblers are also asked about the location of their gambling; whether they gamble at home, whilst commuting, whilst they are at work, at a sports venue or track, or in a pub or club.

Gambling in the home has remained the most popular location for online gambling with 95% of online gamblers reporting gambling at home. Male respondents had higher rates than females in terms of gambling outside of the home (on their commute, at work, at a venue or in a pub/club). The proportion of respondents gambling at work has increased (15%, a 3 percentage point increase since 2018).

Figure 13: Location of online gambling in the past four weeks (Online Tracker; n=1,814)

Location of online gambling in the past four weeks

Location of online gambling in the past four weeks
LocationPercentage
Home95%
Work15%
Commute12%
Pub or club7%
Sports venue4%

As Figure 14 shows, rates of online gambling in the home are consistent across all age groups. There have been significant increases in the proportion of 45-54 year olds reporting gambling at work (16%; a 4 percentage point increase from 2018), which may be driving the overall increase in participating in gambling at work. There has also been a statistically significant decrease in the proportion of 35-44 year olds gambling in sports venues (3%; a 2 percentage point decrease from 2018).

It can be seen that younger age groups are more likely to also gamble in additional locations. Similar to last year, methods of gambling outside of the home are more popular for those aged 18-34. Gambling outside of the home is less popular for those in the older age groups

Figure 14: Location of online gambling in the past four weeks by age20 (Online Tracker; n=1,814)

Location of online gambling in the past four weeks by age

Use of mobile phone devices for gambling in the past four weeks by age
18 to 2425 to 3435 to 4445 to 5455 to 6465 and over
Pub or club15%12%6%6%3%1%
Sports venue8%8%3%4%1%0%
Work22%25%18%16%6%2%
Commuting23%20%16%10%4%2%
Home88%93%94%97%97%99%

References

20 Figures add to >100% due to respondents being able to select more than one option

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In-play betting
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