International players: target audience characteristics

Publication date: 17 Oct 2023

The ultimate question of life, the universe and everything: how to get high conversion and good profit? What is the success of an advertising campaign in the gambling and betting verticals?

Everything is important in the link: the right sources, colourful creatives, budget and tests. This is a whole set of goals and objectives, one of the first places in which takes GEO. It is necessary to study the target audience’s peculiarities in order to successfully send quality traffic.

On 3S.INFO, we have collected the most up-to-date information about players from different countries. Who are they, how old are they? What games and sports do they prefer? What are the reasons why they play and what can motivate them?

Gambling and betting audience: a comparison of Europe, Asia and the Americas

In October 2023, online gambling technology provider Softswiss published a study based on analyzing data from different casino platforms (for the year from September 2022 to August 2023).

All three regions have only one thing in common: the majority of today’s online players from Europe are aged between 31 and 40.

Europe has 8 times more active players than Latin America and 18 times more than Asia!

• 68.3% of European players prefer mobile devices to place their bets
• The average bet size is almost double that of Latin America, but still inferior to Asia.
• The majority of players tend to choose slot machines, with card games and roulette coming in second and third.

Gender disclosure is not mandatory in the registration process at some online casinos. However, Softswiss experts were still able to identify some very interesting patterns.  Europe is the leader in the number of female players – 18.11%, followed by LatAm, while Asia lags far behind. This can probably be explained by the higher level of female involvement in the European economy, which correlates closely with higher levels of education and therefore better access to sources of personal income.

Latin American players of local online casinos tend to make small but regular bets. This distinguishes them from European players who, in turn, bet online less frequently but at larger rates

• 69.2% of active players use mobile devices to place bets at online casinos, slightly higher than the equivalent figure in Europe.
• Male players make up the majority, while women make up only 17.4% of the user base.
• Another key distinctive feature of LatAm players is their unwavering love for sports betting, particularly on football. Nevertheless, when it comes to classic online casino games, local players are active in slot machines and roulette. The latter is gaining momentum, with roulette games accounting for 21.8% of all game types preferred by Latin American players. This is 2-4 times more than in Asia and Europe, according to statistics from a gaming aggregator.

To attract Asian players to online casino sites, it is essential to include traditional regional games in your offer. This includes not only stylization of content using well-known Asian symbols, but also the introduction of familiar board games (mahjong and others). Likewise, in sports betting, a line should be given to traditional sports such as Muay Thai and kabaddi.

• Asia has a higher percentage of mobile betting players than other regions, at 71.6%.
• The proportion of female players in Asia is much lower at just 6.2%.
• Slot machines dominate the market, accounting for more than 80% of all games.

How does gambling work in Europe?

Most European countries have well-developed and elaborate legislation regulating gambling.  New and even recently adopted documents describe the activities of bookmakers and casinos in minute detail: the description of the game, the step-by-step mechanism for obtaining a license, the process of self-exclusion of players.  Officials in charge of gambling and betting, among others, regularly initiate various studies to investigate the audience of players and their problems.

In the UK, 6% of users aged 25-34 to 45-54 participate in online gambling at least once every three months, with a further 4% of players aged 16 to 24.

The best-known UK brands in the online gambling market are Rizk Casino, 888 Holdings, Casumo Casino, bet365 and LeoVegas.

According to figures released by the UK’s Office of Communications (Ofcom) in 2021.

Spain has published an analysis of the online players’ profile from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs for the year 2022. 1.6 million people (3.2% of the total population) were active players that year.

• Of the total number of online gamblers, 83.25% were male and 16.75% were female.
• 80% chose sports betting, 20% casino, poker or bingo.
• The average online gambler is a male between the ages of 18 and 35.
• Men spent €626 per year and women spent €320 per year. The highest spending of €845 per year is among players aged 36 to 45. 

In Sweden, the Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen) regularly publishes reports on the gambling habits of its target audience.

For example, according to data for July 2023, 14% of the population plays online at least once a week. Among them, the largest number of players are aged between 50 and 64 years old.  Meanwhile, among those who play at least once a month, the largest number of players is between 17 and 29 years old. Read all the details about the target audience as well as updates in the Review “How to promote online betting and gambling in Sweden?”.

GEO: Russia. Who bets on sports and plays in casinos? 

In Russia, betting and gambling is legalized. However, casinos can only operate offline in special gambling zones. But bookmakers have the right to offer their services online after obtaining a license. Eventually, the total volume of the gambling sector in Russia by the end of 2022 reached 2.9 trillion roubles ($32.4 billion).

• 90% of betting players in Russia are men;
• 87% have a stable job;
• 64% have average or high income;
• 61% of players are between 25 and 44 years old;
• 54% are married;
• 53% have higher education (or more than one higher education).

The main motive for sports betting (more than 55%) is entertainment, pleasure, and a sense of excitement.  These and other data are taken from the report “Bookmaker market 2022: indicators, dynamics, trends”. All information about how the legal market works and how to promote online betting in Russia can be found in the Reviews on 3S.INFO.

GEO: South and North America

Brazil is the top GEO of recent years. Here, men (51%) and women (49%) make up approximately the same online gambling and betting audience. According to ENV Media, the average age of players is 39.5 years old. 

• The largest age group is 25-40 years old (35%), while the share of players aged 41-56 years old is 28%. In third place (22%) are players between 18 and 24 years old.  No players over the age of 75 were registered.
• The state of São Paulo has the highest proportion of players (24%), followed by Rio de Janeiro (14%). There is also a steady popularity of gambling in the states of Rio Grande do Sul (7%), Bahia (6%), Ceará (6%), Paraná, Minas Gerais, Pernambuco, Goiás and the Federal District (about 5% each).
• The most popular gambling games in Brazil are lottery (58%), sports betting (32%), scratch cards (27%), card games of poker and blackjack (16%), slots and puzzles (16%), roulette and casino games (15%). 

Why Brazilians gamble:

• 48% – there are budget opportunities or one-time gains; 
• 40% – the thrill and excitement of gaming;
• 31% – high quality of online gambling;
• 25% – recommendations from friends or relatives; 
• 24% – regulated and legal gambling;
• 23% – accessibility of gambling; 
• 20% – advertising and promotions.

By the way, the activity of betting shops and casinos in Brazil is still not legalized, there are only various bills and an idea for further work.

The USA sets record after record. Here, the betting and gambling audience has grown to 25.5 million adults since gambling was first legalized in 2018. These figures are confirmed by the National Council on Problem Gambling’s (NCPG) 2021 study.  In the first quarter of 2023, Americans bet a record $31.11 billion on sports – a 15% increase over the same period in 2022.

The most sought-after operators in the online casino and sports betting market are Caesars, BetMGM, DraftKings and FanDuel.

One of the most attractive sporting events in US betting is the NFL (National Football League). According to the American Gaming Association (AGA), 73 million Americans expect to place a variety of bets during the 2023-24 NFL season, a 60% jump from last year!  Meanwhile, 19% of American adults plan to bet online, at a casino or at a bookmaker.

An interesting study was published by Men’s Health magazine in August 2023. It concerns the behaviour of American men and their gambling habits: 

• 61% of those surveyed bet on sports daily or at least once a week;
• the majority were white, aged 25 to 34, living in Florida, New York, California or Pennsylvania; 
• The most popular sports are football, basketball and baseball;
• 56% of men bet only on professional sports, with another 39% betting on college sports;
• Millennials bet more often than any other age group.  Black male Millennials bet more often than white male Millennials. Read who the Millennials and the boomers and zoomers are in a special study on 3S.INFO.
• Most of those who place sports bets in the US earn between $100,000 and $150,000 a year.

 GEO: Asia, Africa and Australia

In Australia, nearly one in five locals (18% of the total population or 3.6 million people) have become addicted to gambling in the past 12 months.

According to Finder survey data released in July 2023, of these: 

• 8% said they started gambling more due to boredom;
• 6% started gambling more because it was easier to do it than before;
• 3% were trying to win money to pay bills and another 3% were hoping to pay off their debts.

In Kenya, nearly 14% of the country’s adult population gambles, according to 2021 FinAccess data. By contrast, in 2019, that number was only no more than 2%. 

• Urban men between the ages of 18 and 36 are the most frequent bettors. 
• Most players have an above average level of education.
• The largest number of players from the target audience reside in Nakuru, West Pokot, Nyandarua, Busia and Trans-Nzoia counties.
• While 11.2% view gambling and betting as “a good way to make money”.
• Between June 2022 and June 2023, Kenyans bet 242 million shillings (US$16,500) daily, 10.1 million shillings hourly, 168,333 shillings every minute or 2,806 shillings every second.

In China, 41% of students (aged between 19 and 21) have gambled at least once in the last 3 months. These are the results of their investigation published by the gambling counselling platform i-Change in August 2023. At the same time, about half of the respondents (i.e., about 20% of students) chose online gambling and betting. 

• 47.5% – gamble “for fun”;
• 41,7% – “to kill time”;
• 41% – “in search of excitement”;
• 36.9% want to make a quick buck. 

31% of students spent no more than HK$500 (US$64) on gambling in 3 months, another 11% spent up to HK$2,000 (approximately US$256), and 3.2% spent more than HK$5,000 (US$639).

Select a GEO, connect offers and send traffic!