Social Media Marketing In Decline As Mobile Casino Play Continues To Soar
The latest participation and perceptions report has been released by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has been published, taking in the changes and trends that were seen in player habits in 2017, and it makes it clear that mobile gaming continues to rise, and social media marketing is starting to lose its potency with players.
The full report, which can be read here is part of a three year strategy by the UKGC, which Programme Director Ben Haden says “sets out [the UKGC’s] role in developing a strong evidence base and improved understanding of the impact gambling has on society.”
Haden continued:
“Today’s report makes an important contribution to that work as it presents a comprehensive view on how the British public is choosing the gamble and their attitudes to the current market.
“Our research shows the main factor that influences where someone gambles, is a company with a reputation for being fair and trustworthy. The message from that is clear – gambling companies that treat their customers well and act responsibly will be at an increasingly competitive advantage.”
What We Learn from the Report
The report is created using data drawn from interviews with around 1,000 random subjects every quarter of the year, with the results combined to find an average that is not affected by seasonal changes in gaming habits.
Of those who responded to the questions, 45% admitted having gambled on at least one occasion in the last four weeks, this is a three point drop from 48% in the 2016 survey.
Excluding the National Lottery, participation in online gambling remained at 14%, while the average number of accounts that a gambler holds rose back up to four, having dropped down to three in 2016, after being at four in 2015.
eSports gets its first mention in the report, with 7% of players having made an eSports et in the last four weeks, this rose to 17% in the 25-34 age range. However, the UKGC stated that these numbers were not overly reliable as the sample being taken exclusively online was likely to have skewed the results.
In-play betting online remained more or less unchanged from 2016, at 26%, but there was a rise in the number of those in the 45-54, and 55-64 demographics, which both saw participation at a record high.
Mobile Gaming
Most of the above was to be expected, but the biggest changes (although, again, not much of a surprise) came in the devices that players were using.
The increase in mobile gamers has forced the iGaming industry to cater more to the needs of these players, and as a result, more players have been tempted to switch devices.
As a result, laptop use amongst gambling players has dropped ten points over the last two years, although it is still top of the list at 50%.
Mobile gaming has risen dramatically over recent years, and has done so again, rising ten points to 39%. When you factor in tablets as well as mobiles, this number rises to 51%, making these two mobile formats combined more popular than laptop gaming for the first time.
PC gaming, which once topped the list by some distance, has continued to decrease, dropping down to 33%.
It is clear that the temptation of gambling on the move, and the ease of use and rapid access available when playing at mobile casinos continues to be tempting to players, and it is fair to assume that it will not be long before mobile gamers dominate the market, something we may well see by next years report if the trends continue as they have.
With considerably more options available to mobile players now than there were two years ago, it’s clear these players have had a severe impact on the industry.
Marketing Changes
Whether connected to mobile gaming or not, social media advertising seems to be losing some of its effect. It is possible that this is due to the issues with certain affiliates using unethical advertising practices on social media in 2017, leading to fines by the UKGC, or it may just be to do with mobile gamers not being as likely to follow social media advertising.
Either way, the effective of social media marketing dropped by two points year-on-year, down to 19%. Improvement of four points in the 18-24 demographic to 40% could not stop this decline, suggesting there is very little trust in social media advertising from older players, especially in comparison with other forms of advertising, which rose seven points to 53%.
Adding to the issues for social media marketing, players who follow gambling companies on social media dropped six points to 26%.
Whether this trend continues going forward remains to be seen, but it is definitely possible that it’s connected to the rise of mobile players, so it would not be surprising to see the number continue to drop.
