Are older players more loyal to gambling brands? 

Players aged over 50 spend less on average on gambling than younger players, according to Department of Trust (DoT) UK player transaction data.

In Q4 2024, DoT sampled 53,963 UK gamblers via their transaction habits to analyse how different age groups behaved while gambling. The groups were split into those over the age of 50, and those under the age of 50. The under-50 group (U50) made up the vast majority of the sample.

The DoT’s raw bank transaction data highlights a number of valuable trends, including that older players are more loyal and on average play with 1.25 operators, versus under-50s with 1.32.  

As shown in the first graphic below, over-50s accounted for 9.5% of the sampled gambling population (5,139 users), while those under 50 made up 90.5% of the surveyed group (48,824 users).  

Overall U50s deposited and withdrew more during the quarter than those over 50. Net spend, calculated as deposits minus withdrawals, was 18.6% among the over-50s in the reported period. Looking at gross deposits, over-50s deposited 7.6% less overall.

Annual salary calculations show over-50s earn slightly more, with an average salary of £37,380, compared to £32,780 for U50s.

DoT data explores withdrawal and depositing habits

Digging into the data, DoT compared notable spending behaviours, including average deposit and withdrawal amounts across both age groups.  

It shows that over-50s typically spend slightly less than the younger generations, with an average monthly net spend per user of £5, versus £7, as highlighted in the fifth slide above.

During the period, under-50s deposited a gross amount of £3,230,332, accounting for 91.1% of all deposits. The older demographic deposited a total of £314,059, which was 8.9% of total deposits.

During the period, the over-50s withdrew 73.4% of the deposits made during the three-month period, meanwhile under-50s withdrew 69.8% of their deposits (slide 6).

Overall withdrawal amounts during the period across all over-50s users sampled was £230,403, compared to £2,253,682 for the under-50s.

Which demographic is more brand loyal?

According to the data, which analysed player activity across more than 300 licensed gambling brands in the UK, Boomers and Gen X-ers (the over-50s) were slightly more loyal than younger players.

Overall, over-50s regularly played across 132 UK gambling brands, where the younger demographic used up to 203 brands (slide 7).

The older group on average played on average with 4.8% fewer operators per user. In total the demographic played with 1.25 brands per user, compared to 1.32 per user across the younger demographic.

But are operators leveraging this more loyal demographic and targeting older players in the same way they are marketing to the younger generations?  

“Younger users might respond better to variety and choice messaging, while older users might prefer stability and trust-focused messaging,” noted DoT founder Charles Cohen.  

Cohen said the data showed older players displayed a lower tendency to shop around for different gambling experiences, and potentially had more conservative gambling behaviours.

Operator usage data: who’s playing with which brands?

When looking at operator usage data between the under- and over-50s, Tombola topped the list as the most popular brand among the older group, with 16.4% playing with the brand. This is compared to a 9.5% population average.

Notably the data also includes card transactions made via retail operators.

Slide 8 above shows Betfred was second on the list (13.5% of total over-50s), then 32Red (11.9%), Buzz Bingo (10.7%) and Jackpotjoy (10.1%).

Comparatively, under-50s players favoured Monopoly Casino (94.1%), Bet365 (93.6%), Paddy Power (93.1%), Unibet (92.6%) and Betfair (92%).

The top 20 ranked operators by player spend accounted for 66.1% of total losses for the period (£760,019), while the remaining operators made up 33.9% of total losses overall (£389,583), according to slide 11.

“This operator usage data complements the spending patterns we already identified, showing that older gamblers not only spend differently but also demonstrate different platform engagement behaviours – they tend to be more concentrated in their operator choices while younger gamblers spread their activity across more platforms,” Cohen concluded.

DoT’s previous analysis explored player churn via bank transaction data, considering how many brands payers in the UK typically gamble with.