Failure to engage young people is often cited as the death knell for a range of products and services, and now it seems like the online gambling industry could be one of them. In a new study by the UK Gambling Commission, data suggested a drop in interest in online and mobile casinos among respondents aged 18-24, leading some in the industry to worry about its future and wonder if there’s any way to reach out to this demographic before it’s too late.
The Figures
The gambling participation survey is a twice-yearly report compiled by the UK Gambling Commission and is one of the most useful tools for the gambling industry to work out the gambling behaviour of various demographics over time. In the survey covering the first half of 2016 – published last week – there was an overall rise in the number of respondents saying they had participated in some form on online gambling within the last six. months; from 15% at the end of 2015, to 16%.
However, it’s when you look at the breakdown in demographics that you start noticing discrepancies. For the age group 18-24, only 11% reported that they had participated in online gambling – a fall of 1% since the last survey, and a drastic drop of 6% since 2014. A fall in participation of over a third within two years is pretty unprecedented and alarm bells have started ringing in the minds of some mobile casino operators.
Should We Be Worried?
For the time being, not really. Given that participation in online gambling in other age groups is going up – up 4% for 45-54 and up 2% for 55-64 – there’s no danger right now of casinos having to shut up shop due to lack of custom. However, it’s worth remembering that young players are the future of online gambling, and as older players begin to shuffle off, the industry will increasingly rely on younger people to support it.
If the online gambling industry plans on having a future lasting longer than a decade or two, they really need to start getting younger players to sign up at mobile casino and working out what can be done to appeal more to them.
What Can Online Casinos Do?
Firstly, it’s important for online and mobile casinos to work out why they’re failing to appeal to younger players. Is the drop due to a lack of interest in gambling overall, or might casinos simply not offering the kinds of offering that entices younger people? Either way, it’s clear the online gambling industry has its work cut out to bring in new, young players.
Online and mobile casinos are famously innovative, and through a combination of better, more targeted marketing, tailoring games to appeal to young people, and creating brand new ways to gamble online, there’s a good chance younger players can be brought into the fold. Hopefully, the Gambling Participation Survey will serve as a wake-up call to the industry, and we’ll see exciting developments and news about them in the near future.
