Abstract
September 2007 saw the Gambling Act become fully operational, and with it the culmination of a huge number of changes in the UK gambling landscape. Attracting massive criticism from certain quarters, those sub-sectors bearing the brunt have been the supercasino, fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) and online betting and gaming. All major bricks-and-mortar operators have an online presence, offering sportsbooks (which this report concentrates on), as well as casinos and poker, and there are dozens of other online-only betting companies.
The betting industry has evolved from the betting shop punter in the 1980s, to phoning a call centre to place bets in the 1990s to a younger, more aware punter betting online. During this evolution, betting on horseracing has lost ground, mainly to football, but also to the sheer number of leisure options that have contributed to horseracing losing ground as a leisure activity overall. With every new generation of bettors and gamblers, the more focus shifts towards football and casino games and away from horseracing.
This report looks at online betting, the main players and consumer participation and attitudes towards betting online, as well as exploring the question: "Will online betting broaden the punter profile or just change existing gambling habits?"
Main themes of the report:
- Can online sportsbook betting compete with online casino games and poker?
- The importance of in-game betting and whether all websites have this facility.
- The impact of the Gambling Act upon online betting.
- How much is online betting worth in the UK?
- Do bricks-and-mortar/online bookmakers have an advantage over online-only companies?
- The level of self-regulation in the industry.
- Has problem gambling risen, and particularly among online gamblers?
- Who bets online, on what sport or event and how much?
- Who has taken full advantage of the relaxation of the advertising regulations?
Table of Contents
- Issues in the Market
- Main issues
- Definition
- Abbreviations
- Market in Brief
- The big offline companies dominate online
- Is online cannibalising offline?
- Frequency of betting
- Gambling Act in full force
- Increased awareness of problem gambling
- New ad regulations
- The effect of the economic climate
- Demographic trends becoming less of a threat...
- ...while Internet usage continues to rise
- Mobile phones provide the most potential
- Internal Market Environment
- Key points
- The Finance Bill 2007 and remote gaming duty
- The Gambling Commission
- The Remote Gambling Association (RGA)
- The EU vs the US
- The Gambling Prevalence Survey
- Figure 1: Gambling activities in past year for all and for past year gamblers, by gender, 2007
- Figure 2: Frequency of online betting through a bookmaker on any event or sport, 2007
- Broader Market Environment
- Key points
- Pressure on leisure spend
- Figure 3: Trends in personal disposable income, consumer expenditure and savings, 2003-13
- Population growth in target market
- Figure 4: Trends in the age structure of the UK population, by gender, 2003-13
- Income groups provide both a threat and an opportunity
- Figure 5: Adult population trends, by socio-economic group, 2003-13
- An ageing population no longer anathema
- Figure 6: Adult population trends, by lifestage, 2003-13
- Internet penetration
- Figure 7: Adults aged 18+ who have used the Internet in the last 12 months, by gender, age, socio-economic group, lifestage, region, ACORN category and TV reception, 2003 and 2007
- Frequency of use
- Figure 8: Frequency of using the Internet, 2003 and 2007
- How access the Internet
- Figure 9: How access the Internet, by gender, age, socio-economic group, lifestage, region, ACORN category and TV reception, 2007
- Mobile phone penetration
- Figure 10: Mobile phone ownership, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, region, ACORN category and TV reception, 2003 and 2007
- WAPs the big idea?
- Figure 11: Features have and features used on mobile phone, 2003 and 2007
- Competitive Context
- Key points
- Betting shops vs online and remote betting
- Figure 12: Expenditure in UK betting shops, 2002-12
- Where gamblers gamble
- Figure 13: Types of betting used in the last 12 months*, 2007
- Who are the regular betting shop gamblers?
- Figure 14: Frequency of using bookmakers or betting exchanges*, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, region, ACORN category and TV reception, 2007
- Comparison of betting shops/betting exchanges with gambling online
- Figure 15: Adults who have used bookmakers or betting exchanges in the last 12 months or gambled online, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, tenure, region, ACORN category and TV reception, 2007
- The rise of poker and casino games
- Strengths and Weaknesses in the Market
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- The UK Betting Market
- Key points
- General betting stakes
- Figure 16: General betting stakes, 2003-07
- Second half of 2008
- Brand Communication and Promotion
- Key points
- New regulations
- Advertising expenditure
- Figure 17: Betting advertising expenditure, by company and media type, 2007
- Press still best bet
- Figure 18: Betting advertising expenditure, by media type, 2007
- Companies and Products
- Key points
- Section overview
- Figure 19: Online bookmakers' product list and promotions, as at April 2008
- Major high street and online operators
- Coral Eurobet
- Figure 20: Gala Coral, turnover and operating profit, 2006 and 2007
- Ladbrokes
- Key financials
- Figure 21: Ladbrokes, amount staked, by business, 2006 and 2007
- Figure 22: Ladbrokes, gross win, by business, 2006 and 2007
- Tote
- Figure 23: Totesport turnover, 2006 and 2007
- Up for auction?
- William Hill
- Figure 24: William Hill, key financials, 2007
- Figure 25: William Hill Group plc gross win and operating profit, 2006 and 2007
- Technology issues
- Other high street and online operators
- Betfred
- Better
- Paddy Power
- Figure 26: Paddy Power, online financial data, H1 2006 and H1 2007*
- Online-only operators
- 365 Media
- bet365
- Betinternet
- Blue Square
- Sky Bet
- Figure 27: BSkyB, revenue, 2006 and 2007
- Sportingbet
- Figure 28: Sportingbet, key financials, Q2 2007 and Q2 2008
- Who Bets Online?
- Key points
- Online betting groups
- Figure 29: Online betting groups, March 2008
- A young profile but more older people tempted
- Online bettor groups by demographic analysis
- Figure 30: Online bettor groups, by gender, age, region, working status, socio-economic group, daily and Sunday newspaper readership, household income, tenure, presence of children, daily Internet usage, supermarket usage, mobile provider and TV reception, March 2008
- Type of betting
- Figure 31: Sports and activities bet on, March 2008
- Men like football and women prefer fun bets
- Type of betting by demographic analysis
- Figure 32: Sports and activities bet on, by gender, age, region, socio-economic group, daily and Sunday newspaper readership, household income, tenure, presence of children, daily Internet usage, supermarket usage and TV reception, March 2008
- Bettor groups by what bet on
- Figure 33: Sports and activities bet on, by betting frequency, March 2008
- Amount bet
- Figure 34: Average amount staked, March 2008
- Average amount staked by demographic analysis
- Figure 35: Average amount staked, by gender, age, region, socio-economic group, daily and Sunday newspaper readership, household income, tenure, presence of children, daily Internet usage, supermarket usage and TV reception, March 2008
- Spend by what bet on
- Figure 36: Sports and activities bet on, by spend, March 2008
- Spend by betting frequency
- Figure 37: Spend on betting, by betting frequency, March 2008
- Attitudes Towards Betting Online
- Key points
- Figure 38: Attitudes towards online betting, March 2008
- Key demographics
- Attitudes towards online betting by demographic analysis
- Figure 39: Most popular attitudes towards online betting, by gender, age, region, working status, socio-economic group, daily and Sunday newspaper readership, household income, tenure, presence of children, daily Internet usage, supermarket usage, mobile provider and TV reception, March 2008
- Figure 40: Next most popular attitudes towards online betting, by gender, age, region, working status, socio-economic group, daily and Sunday newspaper readership, household income, tenure, presence of children, daily Internet usage, supermarket usage, mobile provider and TV reception, March 2008
- Attitudes towards online betting by betting groups
- Figure 41: Attitudes towards online betting, by betting frequency, March 2008
- Attitudes towards online betting by what bet on
- Figure 42: Attitudes towards online betting, by sports and activities bet on, March 2008
- Attitudes towards online betting by amount bet
- Figure 43: Attitudes towards online betting, by amount bet, March 2008
