Facts and Stats about Woman Gamblers

The impact of women in the gambling industry is growing. We focus on the UK gambling market where many studies have taken place and present some of the findings of woman gamblers.
Gambling is often seen as part of the male domain with substantially fewer female gamblers. Simply picture a casino scene in a movie, and you will imagine men in suits surrounding the tables. In the United Kingdom, mostly men frequent betting shops. When thinking of women in gambling, they were more often pictured in a bingo hall. There has, however, been a change since the introduction of online gambling.
UKGC Reports Show Increase in Women Gamblers
The UK Gambling Commission’s reports have shown an increase in the female gambling demographic. Statistics have shown that from October 2015 to September 2016, 48% of people said they gambled. Of that 48%, 44% are women.
In the Health Survey for England, women’s gambling trends for the years 2012 to 2015 showed the following:
National Lottery – 49%
Scratch Cards – 20%
Other lotteries – 14%
Horseracing betting – 8%
Slots – 5%
Private betting – 3%
Online sports betting via bookmakers – 2%
Sports betting – 1%
Casino Statistics 2016 – 2017
Two UK casino brands have released some interesting statistics regarding the women who gamble in their online and mobile casinos.
Brand 1’s statistics on female gamblers:
The number of females signing up at an online casino for the first time has increased.
The majority of women players choose games of chance over games of skill with the most popular games in the UK being bingo and slots.
With 40% of women gambling online in the UK, only 2% of these women play online live dealer games.
Brand 2’s 2016 statistics:
Women tend to gamble for entertainment, choosing smaller bets which means they will be able to play for a longer time period. Men tend to place larger wagers, and play more often for shorter periods of time.
23% of male gamblers in the UK play social gaming, while women are not far behind at 19%.
Similar to the social gaming statistics, 25% of men play scratch cards while 23% of women play scratch cards.
Women Gamble More than Before
The numbers have shown that more women are entering the gambling world in the UK. This appears to be linked with the arrival of new online casinos. Since online casinos and gambling can be played from home, it was easily accessible to more people. Women who may not have wanted to enter the male-dominated gambling facilities could easily gamble at home.
Since mobile gambling was introduced, there is added flexibility in which players can enjoy gaming both at home and on the go. The number of younger women gambling increased with the introduction of mobile gambling, which brings with it even more flexibility than online gambling.
Social gaming, especially when found on social media platforms such as Facebook, has increased in popularity. Social gaming is just a click or two away, and is both fun and convenient, with a large number of women joining in the fun.
An Upward Trend
The number of women gamblers has been increasing in the UK as access to gaming has become more and more convenient. There are a number of online bingo and casino operators that launch sites that are aimed at the female demographic.
BONUS READ: Woman and Gambling – the Facts and the Figures 2018 Onwards
20 Jan. 2018, by Ari Waknine
Related Articles
- Woman and Gambling – the Facts and the Figures
21 Feb. 2020
- Top Movie Themed Slot Games
14 Feb. 2021
- NHS Report – People in the UK Still Love to Gamble
9 Dec. 2019