A report commissioned by the Northern Ireland Department for Communities and compiled by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency showed that two-thirds of all respondents had engaged in any kind of gambling activity in the twelve months ended December 31, 2016.
National Lottery products were pointed to as the most popular gambling options among those interviewed, followed by scratchcards and betting on sports or different other non-sports events. As many as 1,004 Northern Irelanders aged 16 and over had participated in the Department of Communities’ research.
The Gambling Prevalence Survey, the name by which the report was published earlier today, showed that the gambling participation rate of Northern Ireland slightly exceeded that of Wales (61%) and England (62%) and was very close to the rate presented for Scotland (nearly 68%).
The report study also classified respondents in terms of their gambling habits. Most of the people interviewed (86%) were deemed non-problem gamblers. However, almost 5% of all respondents were considered moderate risk gamblers. Problem gamblers accounted for 2.3% of all interviewed Northern Ireland residents.
A similar report was compiled in 2010. According to its results, the problem gambling rate has remained almost flat. The 2010 survey identified 2.6% of all respondents as problem gamblers.
When compared to other parts of the UK, the most recent study showed that there were more problem gamblers in Northern Ireland than in England (0.5%), Scotland (0.7%), and Wales (1.1%).
The Gambling Prevalence Survey also reviewed interviewees’ attitude towards gambling. Most of the respondents – about two-thirds – expressed unfavorable attitude towards this type of services. The other third was disposed favorably towards gambling. The Department for Communities voiced concerns that the number of those favoring gambling has increased since 2010, when the previous study was carried out.
The report also included information about the amounts spent by gambling customers in the last seven days. The majority of respondents (46.1%) answered that they had not engaged in gambling activities in the last seven days. Around 22% had spent £5 or less on gambling; 11.2% had spent between £5 and £10; 10.5% had risked between £10 and £20; and 6.8% had gambled between £20 and £50. The remaining 3% of all respondents had gambled more than £50 in the last seven days.
The average weekly spend amounted to £5.08 for respondents classified as non-problem gamblers. Low-risk gamblers spend totaled £11.46. Moderate to problem gamblers had spent an estimated average of £47.33, as found by the Department for Communities.
Classified by gender, male respondents had spent around £12.6 on gambling on a weekly basis, while female respondents had spent a little more than £4.6.
