Lottery shift leads to drop in number of UK gamblers

Gambling participation dropped by more than 10% in the UK during 2015 as fewer people bought tickets for the National Lottery.

According to figures released by the Gambling Commission, participation fell from 57% of the adult population to about 45%, with the decrease attributed to the National Lottery now attracting 32% of people, as opposed to 46% during the previous year.

However, participation excluding the National Lottery was also down year-on-year from 33% to 27%.

Paul Hope, the Gambling Commission’s programme director, said: “It’s vital that we monitor gambling trends and behaviour across society.

“Reports such as these are essential for us when developing regulations and for the Government when developing public policies on gambling.”

The National Lottery remains by far the most popular gambling activity in the UK, with 11% of respondents playing other lotteries and 10% buying scratchcards.

Of the 1,000 people interviewed each quarter over the course of the year, 3% played bingo, while 3.7% and 3.5% bet on horseracing and sports, respectively.

The report said that 25 to 34-year-olds are most likely to use mobile and tablet devices, bet in-play and gamble outside of the home.

Laptops are the preferred devices among all age groups for online gambling while those aged under 45 are most likely to use mobiles or tablets to gamble in addition to laptops.

Related article: UKGC records heavy increase in online gambling participation