SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
TransUnion has revealed that 57% of US high-value online bettors are millennials, as part of a new report focusing on increasing operators’ efficiency.
Under the ‘high-value’ category, the analysis places those customers who spend $500 or more per month, with TransUnion also pointing out that people in that bracket are disproportionately high-income earners with the “best credit scores”.
A total of 55% of online bettors and 58% of land-based bettors have indicated good or excellent credit scores.
These insights have also been evidenced in previous TransUnion surveys, which led Declan Raines, Head of TransUnion’s Gaming Business, to believe that the majority of consumers gamble within their means.
“As we’ve found in prior reports, the majority of betting consumers can afford this form of entertainment,” Raines said. “In fact, having a significant bump in income was the primary correlating factor to whether consumers bet, regardless of income level. This suggests most consumers only wager what they can well afford to lose.”
Additionally, people who bet online and in land-based casinos have a financial advantage compared to non-bettors, TransUnion said, with 20% of online bettors and 18% of land-based bettors indicating a higher income in the past three months compared to 4% of non-bettors.
However, patterns of poor financial management also emerged from the bettor cohort, which was especially pronounced among high-value bettors.
In total, 44% of online bettors said they expect to be unable to pay ‘any current bill or loan in full’. This is also true for 43% of land-based bettors, while only 24% of non-bettors agree with this sentiment.
Moreover, 14% and 13% of online and land-based bettors respectively have been ‘court-ordered to make child support payments in the past month’, while this stands true for only 1% of non-bettors.
According to TransUnion, US operators should anticipate growing media scrutiny on the “perceived social drawbacks of widespread betting” as the market matures – something that has led to increased regulatory requirements in markets like the UK and Australia.
Reines added: “Operators are keenly aware of the need to balance commercial performance with player protections.
“The crucial next step will be to demonstrate proactive measures that protect consumers to regulators and consumer advocates.
“This can be achieved by leveraging their vast first party data combined with consumer insights which together can help them proactively identify high risk players without introducing unnecessary friction to the majority of consumers who play within their means.”
