GC Survey: 61% Not Encouraged by Free Bets/Bonuses

A recent consumer survey conducted by the Gambling Commission found that 65% of respondents said they had received an incentive to gamble in the past year, with the most common being free bets or spins.

These accounted for 58% of reported incentives, but sign-up offers trailed closely behind at 54%, while “reminders to gamble with a bonus included” came in third at 41%.

Emails were the most commonly reported route via which companies sent offers, with 47% of consumers saying this was how they had received them.

Targeted social media ads accounted for 21%, text messages 17%, gambling app notifications 16%, targeted search engine ads 15% and non-gambling app notifications at 8%.

In terms of frequency, 84% of those players who answered email reported receiving an offer at least once a month, 51% said they had received an offer at least once a week, and only 8% said they had received daily offers. A similar trend occurred across the four primary forms of communication.

In addition, gamblers were reportedly more likely to receive incentives for online betting than any other activity, with 73% of respondents citing this as most expected.

Online slots, bingo and casino, came in second, third and fourth, at 39%, 37% and 30%, respectively.

Moreover, those aged between 18 and 44 were more likely to agree that they liked receiving offers. Still, according to the Gambling Commission’s data, they were also most likely to agree that free bets or bonuses encourage them to gamble more than they want to.

Recently, the Gambling Commission also surveyed another hot topic, where it found that most players disagree with blanket affordability checks, read more here.