2021 has been a rough year for all of us, and not just gamblers. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, our lives mostly took different turns, changing the way we live and think drastically. During the outbreak, people are often in their homes, and as always, they spend more time in front of the screen – small, big, or both.
Some analysts thought that online bookmakers and casinos in the UK will see a massive revenue increase due to COVID-19. As said, people are home and they’re gambling on their phones pretty much all the time.
Well, surprisingly, gambling isn’t as fun as it used to be.
A survey from April-May of 2021
The UKGC conducted a small survey that compared the percentage of gamblers in April and May of 2021. Their results were shocking for the industry, as they showed that traditional gambling took a turn for the worse.
How did the UKGC conduct this survey?
First off, they based the survey on more than 8,700 people, with 4 groups of around 2,200 people in each. Also, each survey took place one week after the other, which resulted in 4 weeks of total research.
The results on April 17 were the following:
- 66.2% of people said that they haven’t gambled
- 32% said that they gambled
- 1.8% said that they “didn’t know”
What about the results that came a month later?
- 70.3% said that they haven’t gambled
- 28.4% said that they gambled
- 1.3% said that they “didn’t know”
Comparing April and May, the results are pretty obvious. Although these months are now behind us, there’s obviously a reason why gambling isn’t very popular these days in the UK, despite the online casinos offering pretty good bonuses and compensations
What Remains Popular?
Not all aspects of gambling have seen a decline, however. Sports betting is still extremely popular, especially when we talk about football, but not during April and May. During the Champions League period, however, bookmakers saw a massive increase in revenue for football betting.
Moreover, the National Lottery takes the crown by being the most popular form of gambling. The UKGC did another survey regarding the National Lottery in April, and it showed that 25.5% of people bought lottery tickets.
However, in May, that number slightly decreased to around 22%, which is still a good percentage, given the lottery’s popularity. Sports betting, as said, is another form of betting that saw a slight decrease in popularity in the United Kingdom.
During April, 2.8% of people placed sports bets, while in May, that number decreased to just 1.3%, which is more than 50%.
Interestingly, online slots gained some popularity. In April of 2021, 1.8% percent of interviewed people claim to have played slots. The results from May show that this number increased to 2.2%.
Impact of COVID-19 on Gambling in the UK
Having in mind the results from above, it’ obvious that the gambling industry isn’t at its strongest. With numerous land-based objects under lockdown, a drastic decrease in revenue is bound to happen.
Nevertheless, the UK gambling industry is among the largest in the world and we think that its return will be imminent. Regarding the financial losses, on the other side, some bookmakers and casinos will definitely suffer to a certain extent.
Passionate about sports from a very young age, I have been scouring sports betting sites for over 10 years. This allowed me to become a real expert in the field. It is this expertise that I will try to share through my posts, guides and analyzes on Gamblingking.co.uk.