The bookie doesn't love you back: analysis of switching behaviour of active UK gamblers derived from bank account data
Session Title
Financial Impacts: Debt, Spending & Behavior
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation
Start Date
28-5-2026 12:00 AM
Abstract
Is Gambling really a market? Any properly functioning market - including gambling - depends upon the ability and willingness of buyers (players) to switch between sellers (operators). This creates the key competitive dynamic between participants which drives innovation, efficiency and value to customers. Yet, modelling of switching behaviour in competitive gambling markets is not widely studied at scale, most likely because of a lack of good data. We now have access to information which could allow this, potentially opening up a whole new field of study in the sector, with many benefits in understanding how gambling markets work, and how gamblers behave when provided with a wide range of choices of where to place their bets. For this presentation we will provide initial results derived from 1,000 UK gamblers using bank account data which shows their deposits and withdrawals from UK licensed operators over a 12 month period to the end of 2024. We can start to explore key dynamics such as - how active players allocate their spend between multiple operators over time - whether large wins or consistent losses are more or less likely to trigger a switch to a new operator - whether players are more likely to return to sites where they have recently had a large win. - are there identifiable effects such as 'gambler's remorse' (regret from large losses leading to a switch)
The bookie doesn't love you back: analysis of switching behaviour of active UK gamblers derived from bank account data
Is Gambling really a market? Any properly functioning market - including gambling - depends upon the ability and willingness of buyers (players) to switch between sellers (operators). This creates the key competitive dynamic between participants which drives innovation, efficiency and value to customers. Yet, modelling of switching behaviour in competitive gambling markets is not widely studied at scale, most likely because of a lack of good data. We now have access to information which could allow this, potentially opening up a whole new field of study in the sector, with many benefits in understanding how gambling markets work, and how gamblers behave when provided with a wide range of choices of where to place their bets. For this presentation we will provide initial results derived from 1,000 UK gamblers using bank account data which shows their deposits and withdrawals from UK licensed operators over a 12 month period to the end of 2024. We can start to explore key dynamics such as - how active players allocate their spend between multiple operators over time - whether large wins or consistent losses are more or less likely to trigger a switch to a new operator - whether players are more likely to return to sites where they have recently had a large win. - are there identifiable effects such as 'gambler's remorse' (regret from large losses leading to a switch)