Do Millennials Gamble More or Less?

Views on gambling vary between generations. While Baby Boomers grew up with land-based (brick-and-mortar) casinos, younger generations are looking for the best non GamStop casino. Many prefer options like £5 deposit casinos with fast payouts, which offer low entry barriers and quick access to winnings.

The general consensus is that Millennials are the most active online gamblers in the UK. But is that actually true? In this article, we use research from the UKGC to verify this claim. We compare four generations to see whether Millennials gamble more or less.

Best Millennial casino for gambling at non GamStop casinos

Do Millennials gamble more or less online than other generations? We'll answer that question later in this article. What we can tell you is that Millennials play online more than previous generations. That's why our experts have selected the five best non GamStop casinos for online gambling.

Gambling behavior of different generations

Our goal is to determine which generation in the UK gambles at non GamStop casinos the most. We're doing this based on research conducted by the UKGC between 2021 and 2023. We've used this research to compare the generations. Before answering the question of whether Millennials actually gamble the most, we'll first examine the gambling behavior of each generation.

Baby Boomers – “Bread on the Table”

Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964. This generation grew up enjoying a few enjoyable hours in a land-based casino. Thanks to strong economic growth and prosperity, boomers earned a good amount of money to gamble during their working lives. And now that they are increasingly retired, they have more time. Their preference lies primarily with traditional games like bingo, roulette, and online slots.

Check out From the Big Screen to Your Screen: Iconic Casinos

Generation X – “Work hard, play hard”

Gen X was born between 1965 and 1980. They were the first generation to experience the advent of computers and the internet, which influenced how they approach various aspects of life, including entertainment and leisure time.

Gen X places great value on online casinos with loyalty programs and the ability to collect points, providing a tangible reward for their efforts. It was thanks to this generation that online poker entered the online gambling menu, both as a video game and in tournament form.

Millennials (Generation Y) – “YOLO”

Generation Y, or Millennials, were born between 1981 and 1996, when the internet was becoming firmly entrenched in daily life. This was a time of rapid technological advancement, with further development of the internet and the rise of mobile devices. Millennials are digitally comfortable.

They also prefer contact and convenience, often playing via social platforms and on mobile devices. Winning is not their primary goal when gambling, and they prefer to play with smaller amounts. They are less interested in slots and more often seek out skill-based games like blackjack and poker.

Read Where in the World do People Gamble the Most?

Generation Z – Woo!

Gen Z, born between 1997 and 2012, is the youngest generation, a significant portion of whom are already allowed to gamble. They are also known as "digital natives." Thanks to Gen Z, esports betting has skyrocketed in popularity.

This generation enjoys the thrill of watching talented gamers compete against each other and the opportunity to earn money by gambling. Gen Z is the driving force behind the development of metaverse casinos. These online casinos focus on Web3 technologies, such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and AI, as well as blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

Online Gambling - British Millennials more than Boomers and Gen X?

The answer to this is No. The chart below shows that 25% of the players with the second highest number of monthly visits in non GamStop casinos are Gen X. In fact, you can see that of the most active 25% of players for online gambling, Millennials are the least active group of the four, although only slightly behind Boomers.