Women and gambling: what are the opportunities?

In this article, we dive into YouGov Global Gambling Profiles data to gain insights into the core attitudes and behaviours of female gamblers in the UK. Our data shows that women make up over a third of all gamblers in the UK (36%). Here, ‘gamblers’ refers to those who say they’ve placed a bet, not including participating in the lottery, within the last 30 days.

But, while women make up a lower share of the gamblers’ pie overall, they may be contributing more heavily to certain gambling verticals. This may be particularly true of bingo and keno because female gamblers (15%) in the UK are three times as likely as men (5%) to have engaged in these in the last month. They are also twice as likely to have bought online scratchcards (11% versus 6%), and they over-index on online casino slots games as well (18% versus 14%).

Additionally, women also spend more on some of these categories. For instance, 15% spend more than £15 each month on slots compared with 12% of men. Similarly, 12% of female gamblers spend over £15 each month on bingo/keno compared to 8% of men.

Which sports do women bet on?

It is in sports gambling that women’s participation lags behind most significantly. Only a third of female gamblers (31%) placed bets at an online sports bookmaker in the last 30 days compared with 55% of men. This could be a direct result of the fact it’s broadly assumed that women are generally less interested in sports – for reference, only a fifth of all women (20%) in the UK say they are interested in the Premier League compared with 53% of men. The opportunity for the gambling industry is to capitalise on the growing popularity of women’s sport to try to further expand the base of female gamblers.

There is evidence that the process of harvesting growing interest in sports into gains for betting companies is already well underway. In May 2021, only 17% of female gamblers in the UK said they bet on football, and that share has risen dramatically to 30% as of January 2023. During the same period, the share of female gamblers who say they are interested in the Premier League has grown from 25% to 40%.

What’s more, the act of betting itself might further cement women’s interest in sport. Half of female gamblers agree that “placing a bet on a sport makes the sport more interesting to watch” (48%), with a similar proportion saying, “when I bet on sport it makes me more likely to watch the game” (44%). Women are also less likely than men to place accas or in-play bets.

Overall, horseracing is the most popular sport to bet on among female gamblers, with a third having placed bets on the sport in the last 12 months (34%). Football (the most popular betting sport among men) takes the second spot (24%).

For brands looking to tap into female gamblers, it is important to know what factors they consider when selecting gambling websites. A third say an “easy to use app or website” is a key consideration (35%). Nearly a quarter seek out platforms with the best odds (23%) and a fifth are on the hunt for promotions (20%). The platform being fun (17%), a habit (13%) and offering a selection of best slots/games to play (12%) also influence women’s choice of platform.

The data also shows that female gamblers skew slightly younger, with nearly a third of them aged between 18-34 (31%) as opposed to 27% of men. Interestingly, female gamblers are six percentage points more likely to belong to lower income groups than men (30% versus 24%).

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.