Overall levels of gambling activity have decreased during lockdown, but engaged gamblers (people who spend money on three or more gambling products per month) have quickly switched to using more addictive products.
Copyright: Aidan Howe
With the suspension of live sports betting and bookmakers closing their doors large numbers of people turned to experiencing new virtual gambling activities. The Gambling Commission revealed data that illustrated a 25% increase for online slots and a 38% boost for virtual poker.
Ronnie Cowan, MP for Inverclyde, is concerned about the lockdown turning people to online gambling. He said: “A lot of people have been driven to online gambling and that is a different beast entirely.
“Once they have got your name, address and email, these companies will target you and come after you.
“They will give all of these offers but it is all about dragging you in.”
He added: “There is no off button or a cooling off period when you are online gambling.
“When people aren’t used to that or exposed to that it can be dangerous.”
With engaged gamblers spending more money and time on gambling the amount of problem gamblers in the UK is set to grow.
Catherine Sweet, the Head of Marketing and Communications at the UK’s leading gambling related-harm charity GamCare, thinks people have turned to gambling as a way of making money. She said: “There’s a concerning context there around financial worries and the misapprehension that gambling is a good way to make money because it isn’t.”
With the country currently enduring it’s third national lockdown, the future numbers of problem gamblers are predicted to rise.