ONLINE BA NDITS
As slot machines and casino games become available on the internet, a new wave of older gamblers have doubled what they spend on a modern betting scourge
A SPENDING survey carried out by a State organisation has found Irish people aged between 60 and 65 have doubled their outlay on online gambling during the pandemic, the Irish Mail on Sunday has learned.
The findings contained in internal research carried by the company comes as a Maynooth University professor, John O’Brennan, warned the scale of Ireland’s gambling problem has accelerated ‘hugely’ since Covid-19 hit as people moved their shopping and entertainment habits online.
Although there’s been no comprehensive research undertaken on Irish gambling habits since 2015, industry analysts estimate gamblers here lost around €1.36billion last year.
That’s an average of about €300 for every adult, making the Irish the fourth-biggest gamblers in the EU, according to industry analysts, H2 Gambling Capital.
The shocking statistic regarding the online gambling habits of the over-60s was gleaned from routine market research on the spending habits of a sample group of adults carried out on behalf of a State company. The respondents were male and female and were from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds.
A source familiar with the research admitted they were taken aback by the finding.
The source told the MoS: ‘We do these samples all the time and this came out of nowhere. You would think that the pandemic is the main reason why we saw this result from a random sample of people across all walks of life.’
Barry Grant who runs the online help group, Extern Problem Gambling, described the survey finding as ‘extraordinary’. He told the MoS: ‘This isn’t a demographic [over-60s] that we see using our services much. But I’m guessing with bingo hall and arcades closed, an older cohort is moving online.
‘The problem with this is that there’s no social element to the bingo when you’re playing on your computer and also on a computer the arcades are open 24/7.
‘Online slots are the most addictive form of gambling there is. You just don’t want to start on them. ‘The problem is we’ve all become slaves to our smart phones and we can bet on them anywhere, on the bus, at work, even when we’re in bed with our partners. They might think we’re looking at Facebook or TikTok but we could be gambling.’ A NUI Galway study published this year found half of people who bet through their smartphones become problem gamblers.
The study focused specifically on mobile gambling, whereby people gamble online using their smartphones through apps and websites. Mobile gambling differs from traditional forms of gambling in that the opportunity to place bets and engage with casinos is constantly present and easily accessible. Instead of going to a physical bookmaker or casino, mobile gambling is done quickly and swiftly, anytime, anywhere, with a few taps on a device. Mobile apps have been found to promote a form of gambling that is more impulsive and habitual in nature. Lead author of the study, Dr Eoin
‘Online slots are the most addictive’
Whelan, of the Business and Economics department at NUI Galway, said: ‘The pandemic and the lockdown that followed has led to a surge in people gambling through their smartphones.
‘We know that mobile gambling is different to traditional forms of gambling in that it attracts younger people and is more conducive to risky behaviour.
‘For some highly involved mobile gamblers, it is not a harmful activity and can actually be associated with a positive mood. For others, it can have severe adverse effects on them and their families.’
Barry Grant says the promised establishment of a regulatory authority on gambling in Ireland in 2023 ‘can’t come soon enough’.
He told the MoS: ‘Ireland is like the Wild West when it comes to gambling. Basically there is no regulation of the industry at all, it’s left to the industry to regulate itself.
‘No matter what the industry is, self-regulation is no regulation.
‘If you look at our nearest neighbour, England, they have similar sports and a similar gambling culture but they don’t spend as much on gambling as we do. And you’d have to think that’s because they have a regulator there.’
Industry analysts, H2 Gambling Capital, published research this year which put Ireland 14th for average highest losses on gambling, just ahead of the UK, and behind Finland (€342 per adult), Malta (€334) and Sweden (€325).
Their report showed a major shift towards online gambling in Ireland, and away from betting shops and track betting. Nearly half of all betting was online last year (2020), up from just over a third (36%) the previous year.
Much of the shift has been driven by the pandemic, according to the analysts. The average European shift from betting shops to online is less pronounced, rising from 26% of all gambling to 39% last year.
And Prof. O’Brennan warns the problem in Ireland could be even bigger than these statistics suggest. He said there is a ‘glaring need’ for more research and data on Ireland’s figure and points out that the few laws regulating gambling here are almost a century old.
Until the new gambling authority being established through the Department of Justice is operational by 2023, the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland and the Broadcasting Authoring of Ireland are the only bodies overseeing ads for gambling. The BAI said it is ‘cognisant of the potential harms for audiences caused by gambling’
‘Ireland is like the Wild West for gambling’
but acknowledges there are currently no limits on gambling advertising around sporting events, many of which are attended by children.
New research from the Health Research Board on gambling in Ireland is expected to be published next year.
But Mr Grant says one thing which is already apparent from his counselling service, which is part funded by AIB bank, is that the age cohort for people seeking help is getting younger.
And he said laws to protect children from gambling companies are also urgently needed.
‘Our median age of people seeking help used to be around the mid-30s. That’s the age when people might have been getting a mortgage or settling down and having children and they needed to reassess their lives. But now we have younger and younger people coming, even in their late teens and early twenties. The good thing about that is that the earlier they come to us, the more we can do to help.’
Mr Grant said companies are increasingly targeting young people ‘because they want to zone in on people who are going to be around for a long time’.
He told the MoS: ‘The company that makes FIFA [video games], one of the biggest selling games in the world, announced last year that it made more from its sales of its player packs than it did from sales of the actual games.’
Player packs are offered to gamers after they have purchased the video game. The gamers – including millions of children – buy the packs in the hope of landing top stars such as Kylian Mbappé or Lionel Messi, but mostly they get lesser-known players. Mr Grant warns schemes such as player packs could encourage gambling in later life.
‘The unpredictable reward is the most attractive thing in gambling and that’s what these companies are encouraging here,’ Mr Grant said. ‘Belgium and the Netherlands have recognised this and in those countries the company can’t sell these packs. The governments there said if you include these packs that means it’s a gambling product and that means you can only sell the games to over 18s.
‘That’s the kind of protection we need for children here.
‘Already we’re doing workshops in schools across the country trying to educate young people about the risks.’
nicola.byrne@mailonsunday.ie
‘Children need that kind of protection here’