Consumers like to have a flutter and gamble for fun, according to research from leading consumer insight specialist

According to Callcredit Information Group’s research 72 per cent of consumers who confirmed they had gambled in the last 12 months had played the lottery and 44 per cent gamble for fun.

Callcredit’s research, undertaken by YouGov*, looks at consumer behaviour towards gambling/gaming in the last 12 months.  Main areas of the research covered where consumers choose to bet, what types of gambling/gaming they have taken part in, how often, how much they spend and the main reasons for gambling/gaming.  Over all the findings show consumers do like to have a flutter every now and again but mainly for fun and indicates quite often on impulse. 

To get a deeper understanding into how their behaviour varies across different socio-economic groups the insight specialist overlaid the results with its CAMEO UK segmentation tool. By using CAMEO UK Callcredit was able to categorise respondents into ten different groups ranging from ‘Business Elite’ to ‘Family Value’. Key findings of the research highlighted that:

When asked what are your main reasons for gambling/gaming?

• 58 per cent of the segment ‘On a Budget’ and 50 per cent of ‘Flourishing Society’ gamble/game for fun
• 31 per cent of the segment ‘Cash Conscious Communities’ and 30 per cent of ‘Prosperous Professionals’ gamble/game to specifically make money

When asked have you used any of the following to gamble in the past 12 months?

• 30 per cent of the ‘Cash Conscious Communities’ segment and 31 per cent of the ‘On a Budget’ and ‘Family Value’ have used a newsagent, supermarket or other retail store for the lottery or scratchcards, compared to 19 per cent of the ‘Business Elite’ and 18 per cent of the ‘Content Communities’ segments.

When asked how often do you gamble/game? 

• 45 per cent of the segment ‘Enterprising Mainstream’ and 43 per cent of the ‘Business Elite’ and ‘Cash Conscious Communities’ segments gamble/game once or a few times a week. 

Will Lowe, Managing Director, Marketing Solutions, Callcredit said: “Interestingly the research has shown low figures across all the segments for gambling at sporting events, casinos and bingo halls, indicating a behaviour of more spontaneous/impulsive betting often whilst doing things like the weekly shopping to purchase lottery tickets or scratch cards.  This is highlighted further with low figures across the segments for socialising when given as a reason for gambling/gaming and when looking at how frequently consumers choose to bet each month. Clearly the research shows that consumers are more inclined to having just a bet which appears to be out of convenience rather than making a social event out of gambling, such as going to the races for the day.”

When asked roughly how much do you spend on gambling/gaming each month?, the figures were high for less than £20 and between £20 - £49 but the research also showed there were a few segments that spent more:

• 17 percent of the segment ‘Business Elite’ and 12 per cent of ‘Content Communities’ spend- £50- £99
• Seven percent of the segment ‘Family Value’ spend- £100-£249 
• Five per cent of the segment ‘Content Communities’ spend-  £250-£499
• Nine per cent of the segment ‘ Prosperous Professionals’ spend- Over £500

Will concluded: “The differences in behaviour between socio-economic groups isn’t always obvious and as such it is important for businesses to ensure they really get a deeper understanding into how their consumers go about their lives.  If they do they will then be able to provide a value added service that is offering their consumers products, services unique to them.”

*All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.  Total sample size was 2,001 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 29th - 30th March 2015.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).