Gambling makes up 11% of UK consumers’ monthly leisure spend
A new report from the Department of Trust (DoT) shows that gambling is not displacing other forms of entertainment or contributing to a “stay-at-home” lifestyle.
UK.- Raw bank data from more than 300,000 UK consumers, collected by the Department of Trust (DoT), has unveiled that gambling accounts for 10.69 per cent of the average UK consumer’s monthly leisure spend.
This revelation comes from a study analysing the spending habits of 304,022 individuals who made payments to UK-licensed gambling operators between April 2023 and April 2024. In total, these consumers deposited a net sum of £150.8m with gambling companies during the period.
While industry data often signals growing gambling expenditure in the UK, the latest findings provide a more comprehensive view of how gambling fits into the broader leisure spend of UK consumers. It appears that for most bettors, gambling is just one part of a diverse range of activities, which also includes media subscriptions, food delivery and other entertainment options.
For the average gambler, monthly leisure spending totals £390. Gambling occupies the fifth spot in their leisure priorities, following activities like food delivery and streaming subscriptions. High-value gamblers, those who made net gambling deposits over £150, show a significantly different pattern. They allocate 42.15 per cent of their leisure budget to gambling, amounting to an average monthly spend of £191, with a higher total monthly leisure spend of £452.38 compared to the overall average of £386.67.
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Interestingly, food delivery and media subscriptions still consume a larger portion of leisure spending for both regular and high-value gamblers. For high-value players, £36.52 is spent on food delivery, and £35 goes toward entertainment media each month, with gambling coming in first at 42 per cent of their total leisure expenses.
Charles Cohen, CEO of DoT, noted that these patterns indicate that gambling is generally part of a balanced leisure mix, with most consumers engaging in a variety of activities. “Money talks and in this case, it eats too, since people spend more on pizza than on a punt,” he said, pointing out that gambling is not displacing other forms of entertainment or contributing to a “stay-at-home” lifestyle.
The data also showed that McDonald’s was the most popular food delivery choice among UK gamblers, while fitness and gym subscriptions were common in the sample. Over a third of gamblers also made charitable contributions directly from their bank accounts, reflecting a diverse approach to personal spending beyond gambling.
