Report
Gambling participation in 2019: behaviour, awareness and attitudes
A report providing an overview of consumer gambling behaviour in Great Britain in 2019
Contents
- Executive summary
- Preface
- Gambling participation
- Problem and at-risk gambling
- Online gambling behaviour
- Consumer analysis
- - Self-exclusion and gambling management tools
- - Information to players
- - Terms and conditions
- - Complaints
- - Social media and advertising
- - Social gaming
- Perceptions and attitudes
- Appendix – methodology
eSports
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.
eSports (Electronic Sports) are the competitive playing of video games and whilst not new, in recent years their popularity has continued to grow both as an entertainment and betting activity. eSports events or matches can be bet on using either money or in-game items such as skins, points, tokens, coins, or weapons. All respondents were asked whether they have bet on eSports in the past four weeks, past 12 months or have ever bet on eSports.
Overall, 6% of respondents had ever bet on eSports, with 4% doing so in the past 12 months. Participation rates for those who had ever bet on eSports were highest among those aged 18-24 (17%) and 25-34 (12%) and lowest for those aged 65+ (<1%).
Participation for betting on eSports with items has decreased significantly amongst those in the 25-34 age category (10%; a 4 percentage point decrease from 2018).
Figure 18: Ever bet on eSports using money or items by age (Online Tracker; n=4,145)
| Bet either money or items | Bet items | Bet money | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All respondents | 6% | 5% | 5% |
| 18 to 24 | 17% | 14% | 10% |
| 25 to 34 | 12% | 10% | 9% |
| 35 to 44 | 8% | 7% | 6% |
| 45 to 54 | 5% | 4% | 3% |
| 55 to 64 | 2% | 1% | 1% |
| 65 and over | Less than 1% | Less than 1% | Less than 1% |
Engagement in eSports betting was highest for males; 8% had ever bet on eSports using either money or in play items compared to 5% of females.
Figure 19: Ever bet on eSports using money or items by gender(Online Tracker; n=4,145)
| Bet either money or items | Bet items | Bet money | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All | 6% | 5% | 5% |
| Male | 5% | 7% | 4% |
| Female | 5% | 6% | 4% |
Number of accounts
Last updated: 22 February 2022
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