Press Releases
UK Gambling Commission publishes the 2019 Young People and Gambling report
The UK Gambling Commission has published the 2019 Young People & Gambling survey which looks at gambling trends of 11 – 16-year-olds in Great Britain.
The survey looks at those forms of gambling and gambling style games that young people legally* take part in along with gambling on age restricted products.
The findings show that 11% of 11-16-year olds that took part in the survey say they have spent their own money on gambling in the past seven days, compared with 14% in 2018. The long-term trend shows a decline in participation since the questions were first asked in 2011.
The most common type of gambling activity that young people are taking part in is private bets for money (e.g. with friends) (5%) with a further 3% playing cards with friends for money.
The research, carried out by Ipsos MORI, also shows that 3% report buying National Lottery scratchcards in a shop in the past seven days and a further 4% say they have played fruit or slot machines in the past seven days, an activity which typically takes place in family arcades or holiday parks.
Over the last two years the Gambling Commission has changed the methodology* to ensure the data is even more robust and reflects changes in technology.
Tim Miller, Executive Director, Gambling Commission said:
“This report demonstrates that children and young people’s interaction with gambling or gambling behaviours comes from three sources – gambling that they are legally allowed to participate in, gambling on age restricted products and gambling style games. Any child or young person that experiences harm from these areas is a concern to us and we are absolutely committed to doing everything we can to protect them from gambling harms.
“Most of the gambling covered by this report takes place in ways which the law permits, but we must keep working to prevent children and young people from having access to age restricted products. Where operators have failed to protect children and young people we have and will continue to take firm action. This year alone, we have tightened rules and requirements around age verification to prevent children and young people from accessing age restricted products, put free-to-play games behind paywalls, and clamped down on irresponsible products.
“We have been raising awareness about where risks may arise from gambling-style games such as loot boxes and social casino games for some time. Even though we don’t have regulatory control in this area we are actively engaging with the games industry and social media platforms to look at ways to protect children and young people.
“Protecting children and young people from gambling harms is a collective responsibility and requires us, other regulators, the government, gambling operators, charities, teachers and parents to work together to make progress.”
Earlier this month the Gambling Commission’s Chief Executive, Neil McArthur set out clear expectations to the gambling industry about how he expects operators to use data to avoid targeting advertising at young and vulnerable people.
Through the work of the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms the Gambling Commission is developing a range of education and prevention programmes to put in place to protect children and young people. This includes partnerships with GambleAware and ParentZone who offer support for parents and guardians to help them deal with issues around playing gambling style games and gambling.
Last year the Gambling Commission made a call to action to the pub industry, after test purchasing found that 88% of pubs in England failed to prevent children accessing 18+ gaming machines. Last week, the Gambling Commission called on the pub industry again to take faster action to continue to protect under 18’s from playing fruit machines in pubs. This year’s survey reports that of the 26% of 11-16 years olds who say they have ever spent their own money on fruit or slot machines, 11% did so in a pub which is down from 21% in 2018.
A summary of the key findings
• 11% of 11-16 year olds say they spent their own money on gambling activities in the seven days prior to taking part in the survey. This is down from 14% in 2018.
• 5% of 11-16 year olds say they have placed a private bet for money (e.g. with friends) in the past seven days, with a further 3% playing cards for money with friends in the past seven days.
• 4% of 11-16 year olds report playing on fruit or slot machines in the past seven days.
• 3% of 11- 16 year olds say they have played National Lottery scratchcards and 2% say they have played the Lotto (the main National Lottery) draw in the past seven days.
• Young people who say they have gambled in the past seven days spent an average of £17 on gambling during this period.
• Over the past 12 months, 36% of 11-16 year olds say they have spent their money on gambling, down from 39% in 2018.
• 7% claimed to have gambled online ever.
• 5% of 11-16 year olds say they have played National Lottery games online, and/or other gambling websites using their parents account, with their permission.
• 12% of 11-16 year olds say they have played an online gambling-style game. 47% of those who played an online gambling-style game, did so through an app.
• 69% 11-16 year olds say they have seen or heard gambling adverts or sponsorship with 83% of that those saying that it had not prompted them to gamble.
• 11% of 11 -16 year olds say they have ever received direct marketing from companies about gambling.
• 52% of young people say they have heard of in game items, of which 44% who say they have paid money to open loot boxes to get other in game items within the game they were playing, and 6% said that they have bet with in-game items either with friends or through unlicensed third party sites (so called ‘skins’ gambling).
• Of those that have paid for money to open loot boxes/crates/packs and remember where they got the money from 49% spent money that they received for birthday or Christmas presents, with 34% saying the money was given to them by parents/relatives to specifically buy loot boxes/crates/packs.
• 1.7% of 11-16 year olds are classified as ‘problem’ gamblers, 2.7% as ‘at risk, using the DSM-IV-MR-J-screen. In 2018, 1.7% of 11-16 year olds were classified as ‘problem gamblers’ and 2.2% were classified as ‘at risk’. The 2019 results do not represent a significant increase over time.
• 60% feel well informed about the risks of gambling and 59% agree that gambling is dangerous and only 7% agree that it is OK for someone their age to gamble once a week.
• 50% of respondents said that someone had spoken to them about the problems that gambling can lead to, with the conversation typically taking place with a parent (34%) or teacher (19%).
• 23% of 11-16 year olds say that their parents do set rules about gambling, with 20% saying parents/guardians don’t set rules about gambling.
• 74% of 11-16 year olds say they know who they would go to for help if they had problems with gambling.
• 11% of 11 -16 years olds say they have gambled in the past seven days. This is compared to 16% who said they had drunk an alcoholic drink in the past week, 7% who had used an e-cigarette, 6% who had smoked a tobacco cigarette and 5% who had taken illegal drugs (including cannabis).
The full report and Excel summary of key statistics is here.
Latest News
Bacta pledge support for Safer Gambling Week as industry drives awareness campaign
Bacta is at the forefront of initiatives to encourage responsible gambling with the leading trade association for the land-based low-stake sector joining the Betting and Gaming Council, the Lotteries Council and the Bingo Association as organisers and supporters of the 2024 edition of Safer Gambling Week (SGW) which runs 18th – 24th November.
With a core objective of encouraging people to talk and take action to gamble responsibly, the initiative which is running for its eighth year, will feature what the official SGW web site refers to as a ‘blitz’ of safer gambling messages online and in land-based venues in order to spark a nationwide conversation about responsible gambling and the safeguards that have been put in place by the regulated industry.
George McGregor Bacta’s Executive Director (Government Relations) believes the initiative continues to make a significant contribution to the industry’s endeavours to reduce further the incidence of problem gambling. He stated: “The first point to make is that Safer Gambling Week draws attention to what Bacta members are practicing every week and every day of the year. This commitment and culture is something that every Bacta member should be extremely proud of.
“The consumer-facing Safer Gambling website poses a series of questions to consider and outlines how to use safer gambling tools such as setting time and deposit limits and how to self-exclude from gambling.”
He added: “As an awareness raising initiative Safer Gambling Week has demonstrated its value. Safer Gambling Week 2023 smashed previous social media records, generating over 50 million impressions across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
“The website received half a million visits and the campaign engaged with a large number of cross-party MPs and peers who gave their backing as did Premier League clubs West Ham United and Brighton and Hove Albion.
“Safer Gambling Week demonstrates that Bacta, its members and the industry at large is fully committed to delivering a safe, responsible and enjoyable gambling entertainment experience for all of its customers.”
Financial reports
SharpLink Gaming Announces Third Quarter 2024 Financial Results
SharpLink Gaming, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBET) (“SharpLink” or the “Company”), an online performance-based marketing company serving the U.S. sports betting and iGaming industries, today announced its financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024.
Financial Highlights
- Revenues decreased 27.7% to $2,838,908 for the first nine months of 2024, compared to $3,925,618 for the same nine-month period in 2023. For the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, revenues declined 34.7% to $881,690 compared to $1,349,331, respectively.
- Total operating expenses declined 25.9% to $4,426,835 from $5,977,327 for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively; and total operating expenses dropped 46.0% to $970,080 from $1,795,057 for the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
- For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, net income climbed to $11,002,266 after factoring net income from discontinued operations of $14,567,733 – up 673.3% from a net loss of $9,114,443 inclusive of the net loss from discontinued operations of $2,523,754 posted for the comparable nine months in the prior year. After factoring a net loss from discontinued operations of $97,139, the net loss for the three months ended September 30, 2024 decreased 68.9% to $885,131 when compared to a net loss of $2,849,547 for the same three months ended September 30, 2023 after factoring a net loss from discontinued operations of $822,100.
- As of September 30, 2024, cash on hand was $1,850,206 and total stockholders’ equity was $2,020,143. This compared to $2,487,481 cash on hand and total stockholders’ deficit of $9,399,769 as of December 31, 2023.
Commenting on the results, SharpLink Chairman and CEO Rob Phythian said, “The notable decline in operating expenses reflects SharpLink’s continued focus on streamlining our affiliate marketing business; and the significant improvement in our bottom line results is largely a result of our $22.5 million cash sale of our SportsHub fantasy sports and sports game development businesses to RSports Interactive, Inc. earlier this year. Since that time, we have succeeded at scouring our balance sheet, eliminating virtually all of our debt, and have turned our attention to identifying, qualifying and pursuing compelling strategic growth opportunities that we believe can best be leveraged to create and enhance long-term sustainable value for our shareholders. As we progress through to the end of the year, we look forward to sharing much greater insight into our future plans for SharpLink resulting from the collective due diligence efforts of our leadership team and our highly engaged Board of Directors.”
For more detailed information about SharpLink’s Third Quarter 2024 financial results, please refer to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed yesterday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and accessible online at sec.gov or via SharpLink’s investor relations page at investors.sharplink.com/
About SharpLink Gaming, Inc.
Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, SharpLink is a trusted marketing partner to leading sportsbooks and online casino gaming operators worldwide. Through its iGaming affiliate marketing network, known as PAS.net, SharpLink focuses on driving qualified traffic and player acquisitions, retention and conversions to U.S. regulated and global iGaming operator partners worldwide. In fact, PAS.net won industry recognition as the European online gambling industry’s Top Affiliate Website and Top Affiliate Program for four consecutive years by both igamingbusiness.com and igamingaffiliate.com. SharpLink also owns and operates a portfolio of direct-to-player, state-specific, affiliate marketing websites designed to attract, acquire and drive local sports betting and online casino gaming traffic to its valued partners which are licensed to operate in each respective state. For more information, please visit sharplink.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Such statements include statements regarding the Company’s ability to grow its business through strategic growth opportunities, the potential benefits of the Company’s products, services and technologies and other statements that are not historical facts, including statements which may be accompanied by the words “intends,” “may,” “will,” “plans,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “projects,” “predicts,” “estimates,” “aims,” “believes,” “hopes,” “potential” or similar words. Actual results could differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements due to certain factors, including without limitation, the Company’s ability to achieve profitable operations, government regulation of online betting, customer acceptance of new products and services, the demand for its products and its customers’ economic condition, the impact of competitive products and pricing, the lengthy sales cycle, proprietary rights of the Company and its competitors, general economic conditions and other risk factors detailed in the Company’s annual report and other filings with the SEC. The Company does not undertake any responsibility to update the forward-looking statements in this release.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
INVESTOR AND MEDIA RELATIONS
[email protected]
Latest News
AGREEMENT BETWEEN ZITRO AND GRUPO OSGA TO PROMOTE THE LABOT INTEGRATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
Zitro, a leading company in the gaming industry, has signed a collaboration agreement with Grupo OSGA, a business group committed to promoting the employment of people with disabilities. Grupo OSGA offers job opportunities to people with disabilities and supports their professional development in inclusive and accessible environments.
Through this alliance, Grupo OSGA will provide Zitro with a parcel and documentation service between its offices, optimizing Zitro’s operational efficiency and strengthening its social commitment to creating a more inclusive work environment.
At Zitro, we firmly believe in the power of diversity as a driver of growth and development. This collaboration with Grupo OSGA not only enriches our company but also reinforces our commitment to contributing to a fairer and more inclusive society,” said Albert Zorrilla, Managing Director of Zitro for Spain.
“The collaboration with a prestigious international company like Zitro not only constitutes recognition of the work that Grupo OSGA has been carrying out but also contributes to the generation of real opportunities for people with disabilities to achieve effective and stable integration in the labor market,” said Oscar Galilea, President of Grupo Osga.
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