Industry data often flags increasing gambling spending habits among UK players, but detailed bank transaction data from 304,022 UK consumers shows gamblers are spending more on entertainment media subscriptions and food deliveries.

The data focuses on consumers that made at least one payment to a UK-licensed gambling operator (excluding the National Lottery) between 1 April 2023 and 1 April 2024. Over this period, these consumers collectively deposited a net total of £150.8 million with gambling operators.

Within the data, provided by the DoT, those that had made net gambling deposits of over £150 were identified as a high-value gambler. As player account balances are not public, gambling spend within this report specifically refers to monthly net deposits. Unless withdrawals are received, deposits are assumed to equal spending.

What are gamblers spending their leisure budgets on?

Gambling accounted for 10.69% of the average gambler’s monthly leisure spend, with the typical gambler allocating £390 a month to leisure activities.

The table below breaks down where consumers spent their leisure budgets over the course of the reported period:

DoT CEO and founder Charles Cohen said the data suggests the majority of UK gamblers are generally doing so “as part of a healthy mix of different activities and socialising.”

““Money talks and in this case, it eats too, since people spend more on pizza than on a punt. Stay-at-home fun, such as Netflix, food delivery and betting online, is only about a third of leisure spend: the rest is spent on going out or going away,” he said.

“[Gambling] does not appear to encroach on other activities or be associated with a particularly stay at home lifestyle.”

For comparison, more money was spent on food delivery (£44) and streaming/media subscriptions than gambling (12.29% of the total leisure budget).

When broken down further by operator, the data showed McDonald’s was by and far the most popular food delivery or takeaway consumed by gamblers in the UK, as 87% of the consumers reviewed frequenting the fast food restaurant.

Gym and fitness subscriptions were common among the player sample reviewed.

Elsewhere, over a third of gamblers reviewed contributed to charity directly from their bank accounts.

High-value gamblers have higher leisure budgets – and spend more of it on gambling

For the average bettor, gambling ranks fifth in terms of leisure spending priorities. In contrast, high-value gamblers place gambling at the very top, spending proportionally more on gambling than any other category.

High-value gamblers have a much higher (17%) monthly average total leisure spend than the overall gambling population.

The high-value gambler spends an average of £452.38 a month on leisure activities (including gambling), compared to the average of £386.67.

Of their leisure spend, closer to 42.15% is allocated to gambling, with an average monthly spend of £191.

At £36.52 per month, food delivery has the second largest share of these high-value players’ leisure budgets, at just over 8% of the total. Entertainment, streaming and media subscriptions came in at £35 (7.75%), which is £10 less than the monthly average for all gamblers.

In general, high-value gamblers exhibit distinct spending patterns, dedicating a greater proportion of their leisure budgets to gambling than casual gamblers.

These insights highlight the significant role of gambling in the leisure activities of more active gamblers, underscoring the importance of understanding this behaviour in the context of broader consumption trends.