Online betting and gaming are growth industries attracting broad demographics. The days when bingo was for females over the age of 75 who would go to a land-based bingo hall is well and truly over. In the same way, the stereotype on adolescent boys being the only demographic to play videogames is also inaccurate.
It is the proliferation of smartphones and tablets that has caused a dramatic shift in the betting and gaming demographic. Research has shown that those who play online bingo uk are also playing the lottery and other games such as roulette, poker, blackjack or slots. Here we look at the figures in more detail.
Gaming preferences
Gaming is now a direct competitor to television and movies, gaining attention from a broader demographic. These shifts are increasing the legitimacy of gaming, which encourages more people from across generations to sign up. Currently, the UK has the highest rate of casual gamers at 69 per cent according to Limelight Networks. About 38 per cent of consumers in the UK pay for a gaming subscription service, with Millennials (born 1981-1996) and Generation Z (born 1997-2012) paying for both gaming and video streaming services.
Mobile gaming
Fortnite attracted 250 million players in less than two years thanks to simple subscription services and this speed of success is replicated with other games. This has seen mobile gaming increase by about 8 per cent annually.
Perhaps the most recent significant shift in betting as well as gaming has been the move from personal computers to mobile and app-based platforms. When it comes to how people are gaming by platform, 15 per cent still play on laptops and desktop computers, 39 per cent of gamers play on smartphones and tablets and 23 per cent use consoles. This leaves 23 per cent of the gaming population who use multiple platforms and devices. Whilst professional esports are mostly PC based, the share of total PC gaming time continues to fall in favour of mobile gaming, which has increased the amount of time people can spend gaming since they no longer have to be at home. This means that gamers play at least weekly, more than any other platform except console gamers.
There are distinct demographic differences between mobile and PC gamers, with more mobile gamers being female (65 per cent) compared to just 35 per cent for console gamers and 44 per cent of PC players. In addition, 33 per cent of mobile gamers are from Gen X and 29 per cent are Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964). Yet, just 28 per cent of Gen X and 9 per cent of Baby Boomers are console gamers.
Betting preferences by demographic
Gambling through playing casino games, poker, bingo and sports betting via the internet has become easily accessible through smartphones and apps. Add the higher trust of gamblers paying online, and the increasing digitisation adding safety and security and it is easy to see that the global online betting market is forecast to be worth around GBP76 billion in 2024, double what it is now.
The UK Gambling Commission publishes quarterly surveys which have shown that of the people interviewed more than half have gambled in the past month, with many gambling online. At least 30 per cent of online gamblers aged under 35 years of age gamble away from home, with one-third of these gambling at least once a week.
Betting is following the demographics of gaming when it comes to the platforms used. The annual increase in betting, to include all land-based and remote gambling forms such as casino, sports betting, arcades, bingo, the National Lottery and other lotteries, shows a steady 7 per cent annual increase, dominated by football betting and horseracing, but increasing across all forms. The online bingo industry now represents big business, with the highest demographic aged 25 to 34, closely followed by those aged 35-44, divided as 62 per cent female and 38 per cent male. This has led to one-third of this group visiting land-based bingo halls at least once in the past year.