The Gambling increase due to the pandemic, stats, UK

[Poker Player]

Yes it is definitely true that gambling has increased in this pandemic time. The main reason behind this is obviously the lock down issue and every one sitting has home has started doing things on net. And those who already gambled little bit got more free time and that resulted in gambling more and i am one of them as well.

Yes, no one should be surprised. I noticed it playing poker. With people staying at home, there was a boom in recreational players going into online poker rooms to get a few hands in. Many of them while having a few beers, so we regular players could reminisce about the old days, when it was easier to win. But the problem the OP is pointing to is gambling addiction.

It is clear that people who have self-control problems, in a context of lockdowns, it is normal that they end up playing more than they would like to. There are many options for responsible gaming, what happens is that on the one hand, many do not like to use them because once they are implemented there is no way back, such as self-excluding from the rooms for a month; and on the other hand, they do not solve the problem 100% while there is no option that works for all licensed sites of the country and block those that do not have a license.

[romero121]

Even many people lose their job because of pandemic, it doesnt became a hindrance for some gamblers to refrain from playing or limit themselves. Since there's still an alternative to gamble while at home. Its not only a way to try our luck and earn because its also a way to entertain ourselves at times.

During the pandemic people are in complete frustration due to different factors. Major thing is losing the job, another thing known face interaction for a long time. This creates loneliness, and to get relaxed everyone look for different opportunities available. Some utilized it as the right time to progress and follow their passion. In that way more startup and craft related businesses have emerged. Some found success on gambling whereas majority increased their stress losing big.

However, many wished to reduce the amount of time they spend gambling, with 43% of those who gamble at least once a month expressing this desire, while 57% of the everyday gamblers also wanted to curb the habit — but at the same time, 42% stated they had no idea how to go about it.

It is good to know that many gamblers are willing to change their gambling habit. They need a support group that can educate, guide and make an assessment in order for them to overcome this situation.

Gamblers used to realise the mistake, and when this happens they could've spend beyond their ability. This causes financial stress. Support groups to educate the people is always a good choice. Apart from this the user himself should understand the importance of life, because during the pandemic many ended their lives due to big losses in gambling.

[Smartprofit]

That is quite expected! Common people with some love for gambling, utilized their new found time by gambling online. That's why we have seen a number of new online casinos started their operations during the pandemic. I believe even people with stressed financial condition, tried their luck on gambling to change their financial condition.

Back in early 2020, I also read about some land based casino group were planning for providing an online experience through VR so that gamblers can play from their homes.

In a nutshell, pandemic time was a net positive for the online gambling market.

Yes, it makes sense. 

The Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic has led to a lockdown.  People stopped traveling and flying to other countries. 

Yes, many have lost their jobs.  And this is a great misfortune. 

However, the total amount of money in the world has not decreased, but rather increased.  The governments of many countries have launched a process of additional emission of money. 

At the same time, people's expenses have decreased.  People don't travel, don't go to restaurants and nightclubs.  Therefore, people began to invest more and gamble. 

Of course, not in off-line, but in on-line casinos.

[Kakmakr]

People now are staying with their home and its some of them find those leisure time in playing gambling which is more risker because they ignore the money some of them want to satisfy themselves. This is the reason why some people even though in online gambling gets more debt. The best thing to do a someone told them to stop it's not the gambling platform because they want to earn it's about their family and close someone who helps them pull out to the gambling addiction.

The problem with a scenario like this is.... people are not getting their regular income from their work, when there are a lockdown... so they should not spend money on gambling, if they are not getting their full salaries. A lot of companies are trying hard to survive and they are paying employees less to retain them... but they are making less profits, because business are not booming.  

Now people are diving into their savings to gamble, if they had or they are using their credit card to gamble and that is when things goes wrong very quickly.  

[Mauser]

I would expect that the gambling activities in other countries also increased during the pandemic. A few of my friends who never really where big gamblers in the past started to play poker and other casino games online during the lockdown. There are a few factors which helped the casinos boom in the last two years in my opinion. First of all a lot of outdoor activities where cancelled, together with bars and restaurants being closed, made it very hard to relax after work when you are stuck at home all day. Just watching TV every evening is too boring and doesn't make me enjoy my evenings. Personally I also started signing up at new casinos since the corona crisis. I miss going  to a real casino and enjoy the atmosphere.
Another factor that fueled the casino boom is the pandemic and its negative economic impact, many people lost their jobs and financial security became a big question again. Having something like gambling where we have a chance to win a lot of money can provide some sort of comfort and relief. Even if we never manage to win big, just by having the chance to get millions we can dream again. It feels like every month there is a new extra high lottery jackpot attracting more abs more people. The only sad part is if the number of people who are addicted to gambling will also rise.

[rodskee]

Yes it is definitely true that gambling has increased in this pandemic time. The main reason behind this is obviously the lock down issue and every one sitting has home has started doing things on net. And those who already gambled little bit got more free time and that resulted in gambling more and i am one of them as well.

not only because we are mostly has nothing to do and sitting in our houses , but many has desperately wanted to double their funds to survive this pandemic but they end up losing .
they have learn  how bad trying to make more money out of gambling because luck is not friendly to everyone.
Why i know this? because at one time last year? i tried the same but losses everything that i Got from my Loan for emergency .

[coin-investor]

These statistics are correct in all countries where gambling is legal, we are human beings and we are not used to getting locked to our homes without access to places that we always visit and do things that we enjoy doing, online gambling offers an escape and a cure for our boredom, I have a lot of friends here who seldom play online but spent 8 hours daily during the pandemic, the problem is because of the long lockdown they developed into a habit that's hard for them to break.

[Sled]

Yes it is definitely true that gambling has increased in this pandemic time. The main reason behind this is obviously the lock down issue and every one sitting has home has started doing things on net. And those who already gambled little bit got more free time and that resulted in gambling more and i am one of them as well.

not only because we are mostly has nothing to do and sitting in our houses , but many has desperately wanted to double their funds to survive this pandemic but they end up losing .
they have learn  how bad trying to make more money out of gambling because luck is not friendly to everyone.
Why i know this? because at one time last year? i tried the same but losses everything that i Got from my Loan for emergency .

Gambling is not the solution to our financial problem. This is just a sort of entertainment, might some have better living out from this addiction but the majority are suffering losses than profit. And sadly, you were one of them. May you still do gambling but not in a way to think that this could help you nor make this a source of income. As the more we got addicted to gambling, the worse thing may possibly come and that being heavily in debt is an example and I can't imagine myself having that life as well. With those figures that OP has presented, not surprising to see the number of gamblers is growing and the time spent. Even stricter laws come, as online gambling exists, this it really hard to stop and this addiction will continue.

[Cling18]

Yes it is definitely true that gambling has increased in this pandemic time. The main reason behind this is obviously the lock down issue and every one sitting has home has started doing things on net. And those who already gambled little bit got more free time and that resulted in gambling more and i am one of them as well.

not only because we are mostly has nothing to do and sitting in our houses , but many has desperately wanted to double their funds to survive this pandemic but they end up losing .
they have learn  how bad trying to make more money out of gambling because luck is not friendly to everyone.
Why i know this? because at one time last year? i tried the same but losses everything that i Got from my Loan for emergency .

Gambling is not the solution to our financial problem. This is just a sort of entertainment, might some have better living out from this addiction but the majority are suffering losses than profit. And sadly, you were one of them. May you still do gambling but not in a way to think that this could help you nor make this a source of income. As the more we got addicted to gambling, the worse thing may possibly come and that being heavily in debt is an example and I can't imagine myself having that life as well. With those figures that OP has presented, not surprising to see the number of gamblers is growing and the time spent. Even stricter laws come, as online gambling exists, this it really hard to stop and this addiction will continue.

It's just so disappointing that not everyone sees gambling as a source of entertainment but rather a source of income especially for those who are having a hard time finding a stable job during this pandemic situation. If we'll just have a proper mindset, we'll know how to get rid of gambling addiction. I hope that the UK government would do something to help decrease the percentage of gambling addiction in their country.

[molsewid]

Gambling is not the solution to our financial problem. This is just a sort of entertainment, might some have better living out from this addiction but the majority are suffering losses than profit. And sadly, you were one of them. May you still do gambling but not in a way to think that this could help you nor make this a source of income. As the more we got addicted to gambling, the worse thing may possibly come and that being heavily in debt is an example and I can't imagine myself having that life as well. With those figures that OP has presented, not surprising to see the number of gamblers is growing and the time spent. Even stricter laws come, as online gambling exists, this it really hard to stop and this addiction will continue.

A person who thinks that gambling will somehow going to be a solution to his problem or in financial problem rather then let's assume that this gambler will be in a total trouble because of this thought. Some professional gambler can handle to make a good profit out of their gambling and yeah make it also one of the source of their income but like us as an ordinary gambler especially not good enough in gambling are just taking the risks well, even professional gamblers do taking the risks too. Due to the current pandemic it is inevitable that people will probably wanna try gambling online especially with the thought that they might going to earn here will probably going to attract many people.

[Gosgosking]

That's  true , expecially during the lockdown I was stock in the house i didn't have access to go out to gamble. My stay inside the house i did gambling almost everyday, that was maybe because I did much  activity and I achieved in it several times.

[RealMalatesta]

Due to the current pandemic it is inevitable that people will probably wanna try gambling online especially with the thought that they might going to earn here will probably going to attract many people.

Honestly I am not seeing nothing has changed just because of pandemic situation than what we are currently having and what we had before pandemic. I mean people are always falling into gambling for their own reasons. Probably pandemic must be just another reason for them to justify their action of entering or continuing gambling.

For killing boredom during pandemic, gambling might be one of the great entertainer but when people are targeting gambling for the purpose of earning while they are staying within home then definitely they will face negative consequences like they will lose their bankroll instead of making any profits out of their bankroll.

[mv1986]

Due to the current pandemic it is inevitable that people will probably wanna try gambling online especially with the thought that they might going to earn here will probably going to attract many people.

Honestly I am not seeing nothing has changed just because of pandemic situation than what we are currently having and what we had before pandemic. I mean people are always falling into gambling for their own reasons. Probably pandemic must be just another reason for them to justify their action of entering or continuing gambling.

For killing boredom during pandemic, gambling might be one of the great entertainer but when people are targeting gambling for the purpose of earning while they are staying within home then definitely they will face negative consequences like they will lose their bankroll instead of making any profits out of their bankroll.

+1

But the circumstances that come with a pandemic (or specifically with this pandemic) do actually favor situations where people consider gambling.
Whether they can keep control over gambling or not does probably depend on a pandemic. It is their circumstances in life, some of which they are responsible for and some of which are out of their control I guess.

The whole online sector benefitted big time from the pandemic. Gambling is obviously part of that sector and so benefitted as well.

[Heisenberg_Hunter]

There are various reasons for why we have seen an increase in the rate of gambling. The primary reason among the increase in gambling is that many have lost their jobs due to the pandemic and have been left stranded on the streets. This urged them to gamble with their money and receive huge profits to neutralize their annual income. While the today's crypto market is also considered as gamble in general with sudden surges of price in meme tokens which hold zero value and the fake shills and scams happening all over! Apart from these, gambling companies has increased the number of ads being displayed in the internet and many are moving onto make quick profits everywhere.

...snip...

The same happens in the 2021 crypto trading as well. I beleive 2017 was much better than 2021 because during 2017-2018 bull run greediness was on a lower number and only altcoins which had the potential pumped to new highs. Nowadays any coin which is backed by a dog symbol pumps over to the top and then drops suddenly after a few days  Should we consider this as trading or gambling? Crypto trading has also left various traders depressed as they ended up losing millions during sudden dumps. Hence, we need to keep an eye on our known people even if they are too much involved into crypto trading as well.

[harizen]

It's just so disappointing that not everyone sees gambling as a source of entertainment but rather a source of income especially for those who are having a hard time finding a stable job during this pandemic situation. If we'll just have a proper mindset, we'll know how to get rid of gambling addiction. I hope that the UK government would do something to help decrease the percentage of gambling addiction in their country.

Generally, there is nothing wrong to treat gambling as a source of income "as long as" those gamblers are responsible at their end and can maintain winnings stats along the way to support their bankroll. I even disagree with the idea that gambling is just for entertainment purposes. Didn't you know that it's more entertainment if we will win always and loses are minimal?

If we'll just have a proper mindset, we'll know how to get rid of gambling addiction.

Can't be applied to anyone. The most appropriate term is "If we have the proper mindset, we know how to manage our gambling activity properly". No need to totally get rid of gambling.

[Oceat]

Pandemic limits us from a lot of things that we do to entertain ourselves, some of us are still in places where they can't go out because the Government restricted them to do so for health protocols. So as an alternative, people adapted online gambling as a new form of entertainment. People loved it because it's convenient and new to them, however, the risk is just the same of course, so a lot of people still suffer from gambling addiction.

This is the problem with gambling games because the risk of having an addiction with new players is irresistible. Someone with an experiences about addiction or gambling should guide these people because it's not that easy to have an addiction once you develop it.

But what would the people do when most of us lost our jobs that's only supporting to our family and yet this pandemic is bringing chaos instead. Most people are bored, unhappy, can't go out due to the lockdown that's why the only thing that they would find entertaining is to join/play gamble online.

[wxa7115]

Pandemic limits us from a lot of things that we do to entertain ourselves, some of us are still in places where they can't go out because the Government restricted them to do so for health protocols. So as an alternative, people adapted online gambling as a new form of entertainment. People loved it because it's convenient and new to them, however, the risk is just the same of course, so a lot of people still suffer from gambling addiction.

This is the problem with gambling games because the risk of having an addiction with new players is irresistible. Someone with an experiences about addiction or gambling should guide these people because it's not that easy to have an addiction once you develop it.

But what would the people do when most of us lost our jobs that's only supporting to our family and yet this pandemic is bringing chaos instead. Most people are bored, unhappy, can't go out due to the lockdown that's why the only thing that they would find entertaining is to join/play gamble online.

Another problem was that the lockdowns lasted too long, people are social by nature and they crave social interactions with people they know and with strangers, the lockdowns were so long that people tried to do what they could to get by until things could get better.

Now the issue is that even if the lockdowns are not in place anymore people have adjusted to this new reality and now they have problems leaving behind the new behaviors they developed during the pandemic, which includes compulsive gambling.

[agustina2]

But what would the people do when most of us lost our jobs that's only supporting to our family and yet this pandemic is bringing chaos instead. Most people are bored, unhappy, can't go out due to the lockdown that's why the only thing that they would find entertaining is to join/play gamble online.

Pandemic is just a reason. The ones who gambled most during the time of pandemic are those employed compared to the unemployed. How come a person will gamble during the pandemic if they have no work. Where they will get the money to cover their gambling expenses?

Most people who contribute to the activeness of gambling in the UK are those who have the capability to support their gambling expenses. These persons might be got influenced by their other friends that were doing gambling regularly at home.

[l3pox]

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If anything I'd take a guess that this is under reporting, so if this amount of people are admitting to it - you can bet there is another 10-20% who are too ashamed to admit it, even in an anonymous survey where there is no chance of being judged individually. There does seem to be a clear discrepancy between time spent gambling going up substantially and only a little increase in the gambling habit, you'd assume if someone is spending more time on an activity (unlikely to bet at smaller prices that they're used to) then the amount would likely increase too. It shows a divergence where people will admit to more time spent, yet have fooled themselves into thinking they are not spending any more money on it.

this is one thing with researches we can't really get 100% of the data correctly but with statistics you can get a clear picture of society if the data is reliable
but I agree with you commment, spending more time on it is likely to make it a habit, could be right

[harizen]

this is one thing with researches we can't really get 100% of the data correctly but with statistics you can get a clear picture of society if the data is reliable
but I agree with you commment, spending more time on it is likely to make it a habit, could be right

Yes, there are no accurate data. But given they used the same criteria when conducting that research, they get a different result compared to usual (prior pandemic). If the data will be extracted again today, I'm sure there are now changes since in most parts of the globe, especially in the UK, people's activities are now not limited to only gambling.