December 7th, 2022, Kineree Shah
In this piece, we’re rounding up the highlights of a year of leisure and entertainment insights and trends.
One of the challenges which emerged for the gambling sector in 2022 is the way its marketing is perceived among consumers.
This year, for example, we found out that that, contrary to practice, consumers think that gambling brands are one of the least appropriate sectors for sports sponsorship in comparison to many other sectors - including auto makers (38%), tech brands (34%) and banks and insurance companies (31%). Despite the gambling industry’s close and long-standing links with sports business, only 12% of consumers say they are “appropriate sponsors of professional sports clubs, leagues or athletes”.
Gambling brands are also less likely to be selected as a high-trust advertiser, with only 2-7% of respondents globally indicating that betting companies are the most honest in their marketing. The sector is also not seen as being successful at delivering personalised experiences either, with just one in 20 global consumers (5%) believing that the industry has mastered this marketing art. What’s more, gambling endorsements by social media influencers are the least noticeable content with only 21% saying they notice them ‘a lot’ or ‘a little’ in comparison to other sectors.
Some of these views may feed directly into – or from – the debate on the regulatory regime around gambling.
Through YouGov’s Global Gambling Report 2022, we established that nearly a quarter of consumers (23%) around the globe strongly agree that online gambling should not be allowed while 16% strongly disagree. This is clearly a polarizing issue, with 46% overall agreeing that online gambling shouldn’t be permitted (strongly agree + tend to agree) and 37% disagreeing.
Moving on to esports betting, 15% of respondents from Australia say they’re interested in betting on esports, a significant proportion of the population, compared to Canada (10%), US (10%), Germany (7%), and the UK (4%). But appetite increases among younger respondents. One in five of consumers aged 18-24 in the US, UK, Australia, India, Germany, and Canada are interested in betting on esports. That number increases slightly to 22% among those 25-34 and as we might expect dwindles the higher we go up the generational ladder: 35-44 (18%), 45-54 (12%), and 55+ (4%).
Leisure, entertainment and the cost of living
As global inflation rises more than half of global gamblers (55%) say they will first look at cutting down on eating out to maintain their monthly budget. Traveling (45%), shopping for clothes (41%) and ordering takeaway (39%) are some of the other areas in which bettors will consider reducing expenses. However, over a third of global gamblers (37%) say that betting is one of the areas they plan to cut back on first. As for betting, among global consumers in face of cost of living crisis, three in ten say they intend to spend less on gambling (30%).
Inflation bites in other areas too. Nearly one in five (17%) of global consumers say the price of admission to entertainment venues has gone up a lot, while another 27% say it has gone up a little. More than a third (36%) of consumers globally are planning to cut back on live entertainment while more than half (52%) say that going to the cinema is too expensive. It doesn’t help that cinema is one of the least popular industries for offering a good digital consumer experience in comparison to other sectors.
Perhaps if people stay at home more in the face of budgetary pressures, they will find other ways to entertain themselves.
Music apps like Spotify are the most popular way to discover new tunes (36%) while a third of global consumers still find recent music on terrestrial or satellite radio (33%). A third (32%) of consumers say they find new music on social media. But as inflation rises, 28% of global consumers expect to cut back on their streaming budgets compared with last year. Only one in 10 respondents (12%) say that they are more likely to increase their spending since last year, which could spell a tricky year for the big streaming companies, as well as those who are looking to launch.
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