December 2nd, 2021, Cheryl Kar
Online gambling has become enormously popular with bettors around the world – bringing the same level of convenience to having a flutter as to shopping for groceries or watching a film.
But apart from gambling, what are gamblers using the internet for?
Data from YouGov Global Gambling Profiles, which continuously collects data to allow users unique, real-time insights into how much the world gambles, sheds a spotlight on the top internet activities among global gamblers.
According to the data, two-thirds of gamblers around the world say they use the internet for email (66%), suggesting it could be one of the best ways for marketers to reach this audience. But a drill into the data tells us that the top line is deceptive. Among younger demographics this internet activity is markedly less popular, meaning that email marketing is not such a straightforward proposition when it comes to reaching this group (18-24: 34%; 25-34: 46%; 35-44: 60%; 45-54: 75%; 55+: 82%).
Browsing the internet emerges as the second most popular activity that gamblers tend to engage in using the internet (57%) – with slightly more men than women saying so (58% vs 56%).
So much for the most obvious answers. But what about other activities? More than half of gamblers globally tell us they use the internet for online banking. A closer look at this audience shows that this group is likely to belong to middle income brackets (lower income: 51%; middle income 60%; higher income: 53%). While browsing online for goods, such as books, clothing or groceries emerges as the next most popular activity among global gamblers using the internet, they are however less likely than the general population to do so (48% vs 51%).
Accessing social networking sites ranks fifth on the list of internet activities among gamblers (42%). But again there is nuance in the demographics. Respondents in this group tend to be 45-54-year-olds and they are almost twice as likely to show this behavior as 18-24-year-olds (18-24: 28%; 25-34: 33%; 35-44: 41%; 45-54: 49%; 55+: 46%).
Roughly two in five gamblers globally say they use the internet to visit news and sports websites (39%). This behavior is most pervasive among gamblers in Germany (Germany: 62%; US: 49%; Canada: 34%).
Gamblers globally are as likely to use the internet for messaging as they are for playing games (30% vs 30%). They are also just as likely to use the internet for buying or browsing services online as they are to store files on the cloud-based apps (26% vs 26%).
One in five gamblers globally use the internet for downloading games, movies and other forms of media content (21%). Closely following are gamblers who say they use the internet for working on online productivity applications (18%).
Even with gambling apps bringing a change in the global gambling scene, it’s worth noting that a notable proportion of gamblers globally are dedicated to using the internet to visit gambling websites (16%). A notable proportion of gamblers globally tell us they visit dating apps or websites using the internet (7%) as opposed to 5% of the general population.
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Methodology: YouGov Global Gambling Profiles is based on continuously collected data from several sources, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Data referenced is based on a sample size of 3,757 adults. Online interviews were conducted in September 2021.