UK online gambling showed a spike in participation both at home and at the office in 2019, while online in-play sports betting continues to fall.

On Wednesday, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) released its latest gambling participation survey for 2019, which found that 47% of respondents had engaged in some form of gambling in the past four weeks, up one point from the 2018 survey. That number falls to 32% (unchanged) when you exclude those whose only gambling was on National Lottery draws.

Online gambling participation was up three points to 21% in 2019, but this figure shrinks to 16.6% (+2.2 points) excluding online lottery-only participants. Those who gamble online are significantly more likely to do so via their mobile devices (50%, +6) than their laptops (38%, -6) or desktop computers (26%, -2).

Most online gamblers choose to play at home (95%), although those who sneak in a little play at work was up three points to 15% (largely driven by those in the 45-54 age demo). A slightly smaller number (12%) gamble during their daily commute to work.