British punters might be spending more than they think in casinos across the UK. Recent research by OnlineCasinos.co.uk has revealed the gambling habits of the UK — with some surprising results.
Facts and figures from the average household
On average, the UK spends more on casinos per week than pet food, phones, medicines, and even notoriously expensive rail tickets.
A typical British household spends an average of £6.28 per week in casinos.
By comparison, it spends £5.60 on pets and pet food, £4.10 on phone bills, £2.10 on medicines, and just £4.30 on rail and Tube fares.
While gambling in casinos is clearly a popular (and expensive) pastime, it is surpassed by the nation’s love for alcohol. We spend a weekly average of £8.70 on alcohol, and that doesn’t even include drinks bought in pubs or clubs.
Clearly, casino gambling is still a popular hobby for UK households.
Regional gambling differences around the UK
The research also highlights some interesting regional differences in casino spending habits across the UK.
It’s not surprising that Londoners spend the most in casinos, with a staggering £4.1 billion being annually spent in our capital’s casinos. One of the UK’s most expensive cities has an expensive gambling habit to match, with its annual casino spend equivalent to the price of 65 million pints of beer.
The Scottish are the most frugal when it comes to casinos, spending just £195 million per year (equivalent to the cost of 39 million homeless beds).
And despite the wealth disparity between the North and the South, it is the former who overall spend more in our nation’s casinos.
Northerners spend over £724 million in casinos every year, compared to the £491 million spent by punters in the South. Coming a close second to the North is Wales and the Midlands, who spend over £670 million in casinos per year.
Who are the real winners?
With such huge amounts being spent in casinos around the world every year, the winners are often the casinos themselves.
Indeed, the average takings of casinos in the UK is a staggering £810,546,846 — eight times higher than the salary of top UK footballers.
And yet, actual attendance in offline casinos in the UK is actually gradually decreasing over time. (A sign of the triumph of online casinos?).
During the 12 months in question, casino attendance was at its highest in December 2017 with 1,792,325 punters visiting casinos in that month alone; it then dropped sharply after Christmas to 1,501,300 in January 2018, and then down to just 1,474,516 visits in February.
This was likely due to families trying to save their pennies after seasonal spending.
Attendance peaked again in March 2018 to 1,605,639, before steadily dropping again for three months to 1,412,791 in June. As the summer months arrive, casino attendance rose slightly to reach 1,605,422 in August, before finally dropping gradually to just 1,470,100 in October.
Despite increasingly stricter laws on the gambling industry and betting shops closing at a rapid rate, it’s clear that the British public still has a love for casinos. And even facing a pattern of decreased attendance, casinos still enjoy significant profits from the UK’s punters. With laws expected to tighten in the future, all in the gambling industry will be keeping their eyes on the horizon.
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