As good a reason as any

The most common reasons Brits who have not gambled online in the past year give for abstaining from the pastime revolved around the simple unlikelihood of winning.

On Thursday, YouGov, an “international research data and analytics group,” previewed a portion of a whitepaper in which it attempts to drill to the core of online gambling habits in 17 markets around the world. In this specific case, the focus was on Brits who had stayed away from gambling in the past year.

21% said “You’re unlikely to win big,” the third-most chosen reason

Respondents were able to choose as many reasons as they wanted from a provided list. The most popular answer for not gambling online at 27% of those surveyed was “The odds are stacked against the player.” Related, 21% said “You’re unlikely to win big,” the third-most chosen reason.

In between the two was “I don’t have the money to gamble with,” picked by 22% of the respondents. On ethical grounds, 11% said that “Gambling is morally wrong” and 8% said “It is against my beliefs.”

Some just don’t think about gambling

YouGov noted that, among all the more specific reasons people gave for not gambling online, two were actually rather non-specific. One-fifth (20%) of respondents said that it simply hadn’t occurred to them to gamble on the internet. Nearly a third (32%) said there was “no reason in particular.”

The research company frames this as a potential opportunity for gambling firms. The “no reason” portion of the population, according to YouGov, is “a group typically amongst the easiest to market to, given the right insights about their attitudes and behaviors.”

Regarding those who hadn’t really thought about gambling, YouGov says that “the right marketing message delivered through the right platform could nudge this significant group into becoming active.”

Problem gambling concerns

Another set of answers in the poll revolved around problem gambling, or at least those who were concerned about their own possible problem gambling. Ten percent of respondents said: “I’m worried that I might spend too much” and another nine percent chose “I’m worried I met get addicted.”

Similarly, five percent selected the option: “I don’t trust myself.”

YouGov added that of the three problem gambling-related concerns, young people, aged 18 to 24, were twice as likely to select one of them as the rest of the population. And YouGov again related the findings to marketing, saying: “These anxieties have been the topic of much discussion in the industry and while industry bodies have made efforts to quell concerns, more effort may be needed to grow the industry.”