Gambling Commission report highlights spending patterns and crossover with wider gambling activity

A new short report from the Gambling Commission offers one of the clearest snapshots to date of how consumers engage with free draws and prize competitions, revealing notable crossover with other forms of gambling and measurable patterns of online spending. The analysis draws on three data sources — the Gambling Survey for Great Britain, YouGov Finance open banking data, and SimilarWeb traffic insights — to build a more detailed picture of participation and behaviour.

The Commission found that 8% of respondents had spent money entering an online draw or competition for a high‑value prize, such as a luxury house, within the previous four weeks, a level comparable to participation in online instant‑win games. Among those who took part in free draws or prize competitions, 80% had also participated in other gambling activities during the same period, underscoring a strong overlap between these markets and traditional gambling behaviours.

Open banking data provided further insight into consumer spending, showing that across 20 major providers, the average annual spend per user was £75.38. Web‑traffic analysis indicated that users visited these operators around 3.4 times per month, with total monthly visits reaching approximately 479,000, suggesting sustained engagement rather than one‑off participation. Higher‑frequency players were found to spend more on average.

The report also highlights the value of combining survey responses with transactional and web‑engagement data. According to the Commission, even a single survey question, when paired with multiple data sources, can generate “detailed and meaningful insights” into emerging consumer behaviours in areas that sit adjacent to regulated gambling.

Overall, the findings point to a growing and increasingly data‑rich segment of the consumer landscape, where free draws and prize competitions attract both casual participants and those already active in the wider gambling ecosystem.