A survey by CT Group on behalf of Entain found more than half (55%) of the UK’s bettors viewed betting as a ‘social activity’ rather than gambling. More than a quarter of the participants said they had made many friends through betting.
Bettors Quizzed Over Gambling Habits
2,000 UK bettors were questioned about their gambling activity and around half were found to bet more than once a month on other activities apart from the National Lottery.Bettors tend to spend more in bars, pubs, and restaurants at least once a week than they do on gambling. The findings of the report which comes at the time of the review of the 2005 Gambling Act, and reinforce Entain’s view that bettors see gambling as a social activity and should be able to gamble freely as in the most part people gamble safely and responsibly.
Freedom of Choice
The report also found a huge 94% of UK bettors, who gamble at least once a month would prefer to make their own decisions on what they spend their money on, the figure is up from 79% in December 2020. 90% of the people who enjoy a bet viewed themselves as ‘sports fans’.A large proportion of bettors who took part in the survey believed they were responsible adults who saved money and bet within their means, and 84% said they had savings accounts.Entain commented on the results, “In every aspect in life and leisure, respondents report increased online activity during the pandemic, led by banking and shopping. “Although across all areas people expect their online activities to fall as restrictions ease, they expect to continue betting, shopping and streaming digital entertainment online even after the pandemic is over.”