Which sports attract the biggest spenders in Britain?

The lottery aside, sport is perhaps the most lucrative gambling vertical in the UK. For reference, nearly two-fifths of online UK gamblers spend over £5 on sports bets and fantasy sports each month (49%), Global Gambling Profiles data shows. This is significantly higher than the share of those who spend at least £5 per month on other categories of gambling like slots (25%), bingo (18%) and casino games (17%).
In this article, online punters refer to those who have engaged in any form of online gambling other than the lottery in the past 30 days. But which sports are attracting the biggest spenders? By analysing the data by the sports gamblers say they have bet on in the last year, we can investigate this topic further.

Popular betting sports
Interestingly, football and horseracing, which are the two most popular sports UK online gamblers bet on, tend to attract the lowest share of high spenders. Only 7% of those who bet on football and 8% of those who bet on horseracing say they spend over £100 monthly on sports bets. By comparison, a markedly higher proportion of those who bet on other popular betting sports like cricket (18%), tennis (16%), golf (14%), rugby union (14%) and boxing (12%) say they spend over £200 monthly.
But, to put these numbers in perspective, it is worth noting that football and horseracing are streets ahead in terms of overall bettors attracted, even compared to other popular betting sports. For example, seven in 10 UK sports bettors say they have bet on football in the last 12 months, which is seven times the share that have bet on rugby union (10%) or cricket (10%). Horseracing (55%) is the second-most popular betting sport overall, well ahead of third-placed golf (15%). Boxing (14%) and tennis (13%) are placed fourth and fifth, respectively, ahead of cricket and rugby.
The monthly betting spend and overall volume of bettors need to be considered in context of each other when sportsbooks tailor their strategies for different sports. It is likely that football and horseracing attract a much smaller share of high-spending bettors overall because casual gamblers are more drawn to these sports than others.
While less popular overall, American sports leagues tend to draw an even higher share of high-bet spenders. Roughly a fifth of those who bet on MLB (20%), NHL (20%) and the NBA (22%) spend over £100 monthly on sports and fantasy sports bets. One in seven (15%) of NFL gamblers, the most popular of the American leagues in terms of bettors, spend over £100 monthly.

Causal links
We examined whether the share of higher-bet spenders correlates to the economic background of the betting group but found no link. For example, despite cricket attracting a much higher share of £100+ sports bet spenders than football (18% versus 7%), cricket bettors are only three percentage points more likely to belong to the high-income group (26% versus 23%) than football bettors.
Sports that attract high spenders also have a higher share of discerning customers. Just over a fifth of horseracing bettors (22%) and a quarter of football bettors (25%) say they only use sites that offer loyalty schemes. More than twice as many MLB bettors agree with this (48%). The correlation isn’t linear though, with NBA bettors less likely to agree with the statement (37%) despite having the highest share of high spenders. Roughly a third of cricket (32%), tennis (34%) and boxing (35%) bettors also look out for sites that offer loyalty schemes.

Having worked for YouGov for over a decade, Oliver Rowe has advised companies including Tesco and Barclays on their reputation management. He now brings that experience to a sector which includes the betting and gaming industry in his role as global sector head for leisure and entertainment.