The ranks of UK online gamblers took on a slightly more feminine quality in the first quarter of 2015, according to the UK Gambling Commission’s latest gambling participation survey.

The percentage of study participants who gambled at least once in the past four weeks fell five points to 51%. Excluding the National Lottery, participation fell two points to 31%. Lotteries remain the top gambling choice, with 36% participating in National Lottery draws, 13% playing other lotteries and 9% buying scratch cards.

Sports betting participation – including the online variety – was unchanged at 4%, although the standalone online betting stat fell one point to 3%. The overall online gambling participation score (including lotteries) fell one point to 16%, while the non-lottery online stat fell one point to 9%.

In gender terms, the ranks of male gamblers fell six points to 55% while female participants fell three points to 48%. However, when it came to online gambling, male participants fell four points to 17% while female participation rose two points to 13%. Even when you exclude National Lottery online play, men were down two points to 11% while women gained one point to 8%.