Casino Player Demographics: Real Data by Market

Casino-player demographics are often reduced to a vague description of the “average gambler,” but official data shows that age, sex and income patterns change sharply depending on whether the survey includes lotteries, sports betting, online instant games or casino tables. The clearest conclusion is not that one demographic dominates every form of gambling. It is that different products attract noticeably different groups.

The most current large national dataset available is the Gambling Survey for Great Britain 2025, published by the UK Gambling Commission in July 2026. It surveyed 20,775 adults between January 2025 and January 2026. The latest detailed Canadian national breakdown remains Statistics Canada’s 2018 Canadian Community Health Survey gambling module, published in analytical form in 2022. The dates matter: the British figures describe a mature online market, while the Canadian figures predate Ontario’s regulated private iGaming market and Canada’s legalization of single-event sports betting.

Great Britain: almost half of adults gambled recently

In the 2025 British survey, 47% of adults said they had spent money on some form of gambling during the previous four weeks. That headline includes lottery-only customers. Once people who participated only in lottery draws were removed, the rate fell to 27%.

The same distinction changes online participation. Thirty-eight percent reported gambling online during the previous four weeks, but the figure fell to 16% after lottery-draw-only users were removed. Online lottery purchasing therefore accounts for a large part of what is commonly described as online gambling.

The age profile changes when lotteries are removed

The Commission’s September 2025 to January 2026 wave found that overall participation was highest among adults aged 45 to 64, with rates between 54% and 56%. Once lottery-only participation was excluded, the highest rate shifted to adults aged 35 to 44, at 32%.

This is more useful than saying simply that older adults gamble more. Older groups are strongly represented in lottery participation. Younger and middle-aged adults make up a larger share when the analysis focuses on betting, online instant games and other non-lottery products.

Younger adults use more products

The 2025 British annual report found that adults aged 18 to 24 who had gambled used an average of 3.6 different gambling activities during the previous four weeks. The average declined steadily with age and reached 1.7 among adults aged 75 or older.

This does not prove the youngest group spent the most money, but it shows greater product mixing. A younger account holder is more likely to move among betting, instant-win games and other products instead of remaining attached to one.

Men participate more, but the gap depends on product

In the latest British quarterly data, 49% of men and 44% of women reported gambling during the previous four weeks. The five-point difference is real but far too small to describe gambling as overwhelmingly male.

The gap becomes larger in specific products. Betting participation was reported by 13% of men and 4% of women. By contrast, the survey found little difference between men and women in scratch cards and online instant-win games. Sportsbooks and tables can be male-skewed while lottery-style products attract a more balanced audience.

Canada: 64.5% gambled during the previous year

Statistics Canada reported that 64.5% of Canadians aged 15 or older—approximately 18.9 million people—had participated in at least one gambling activity during 2018. Men had a participation rate of 68.8%, compared with 60.4% for women.

The Canadian survey used a twelve-month period rather than the four-week period emphasized in Britain. The headline rates should not be compared directly. A person who bought one ticket eleven months earlier counted in Canada but would not appear in a four-week measure.

Canadian participation peaked at ages 45 to 64

The lowest Canadian rate was among people aged 15 to 24, at 43.9%. Participation rose to 64.6% among ages 25 to 44 and peaked at 72.3% among ages 45 to 64. It then declined to 65.4% among people aged 65 or older.

Men had higher participation in every age group. Among ages 45 to 64, 76.3% of men and 68.5% of women reported gambling during the year. These figures cover all included activities and are heavily influenced by lotteries and raffles.

Casino-table play shows a wider sex difference

Statistics Canada found that 7.5% of Canadians had placed a wager at a casino table during the previous year. Men were more than twice as likely to report this activity: 10.2% compared with 4.8% for women. Sports betting produced a similar gap, at 12.1% of men and 3.9% of women.

Those product-level figures are more relevant to casino operators than the overall participation rate. They show that the market for tables and betting was substantially more male-skewed than the broader gambling population.

Electronic games reached more people than tables

In the same survey, 12.6% reported electronic gambling machines, including video lottery terminals. This was considerably higher than the 7.5% reporting casino-table betting. Lottery and raffle tickets remained dominant at 51.8%, while instant tickets and instant online games reached 33%.

These differences explain why national gambling demographics often describe lottery customers more accurately than casino customers. Even within the casino category, slots and tables do not necessarily attract the same audience.

Higher income increased participation but not protection from harm

Among the highest-income Canadian households, 71.5% reported gambling during the previous year. The rate for the lowest-income group was 53.8%.

The relationship reversed when risk was measured. Among gamblers from the highest-income households, 1.1% were classified at moderate-to-severe risk of gambling problems. The rate was 2.7% among gamblers from the lowest-income households.

This is one of the most important findings in the dataset. Higher-income households produced more participation, but lower-income gamblers faced greater proportional risk. The same dollar loss has a very different effect across households.

Men also showed higher measured risk

Across Canadian past-year gamblers, 1.6%—approximately 304,000 people—were classified at moderate-to-severe risk. The rate was 2.0% among men and 1.2% among women.

These percentages do not mean most gamblers experience serious problems. Statistics Canada classified 95% of past-year gamblers as non-problem gamblers on the Canadian Problem Gambling Index. Participation and harm are separate measures.

Using several products increases risk indicators

Statistics Canada found that 27.3% of Canadians participated in only one gambling activity during the year, 23.2% used two, 8.7% used three and 5.2% participated in four or more. The number of activities was associated with increased gambling-related risk.

This does not prove that product mixing causes harm by itself, but it provides a more meaningful behavioural measure than age alone. A customer moving among slots, betting, poker and instant games has more opportunities to gamble and fewer natural breaks than someone buying one monthly lottery ticket.

Ontario’s current online market needs newer data

The national Canadian survey predates single-event sports betting legalization in 2021 and Ontario’s private iGaming market in April 2022. Its online and casino figures should not be treated as a current profile of Ontario players.

Ontario’s 2025 channelization research found that 43.9% of adult residents had gambled online during the previous year. That figure covers the broad online market rather than a full public age-and-sex casino profile, but it shows how much participation has changed since 2018.

This gap is itself useful information. Detailed revenue data exists, while equally detailed public demographic reporting remains limited. Revenue should not be mistaken for evidence about who generated it.

Participation and spending describe different populations

A group can have high participation but low spending, while a small group can generate a disproportionate share of revenue. A national survey and an operator’s revenue database can therefore describe different “typical” players without either being wrong.

Demographic analysis is strongest when age, sex and income are combined with product, frequency, turnover, session duration and financial exposure.

What the data actually says

Overall gambling participation is often highest among middle-aged adults because lotteries are common in those groups. Once lottery-only customers are removed, the active non-lottery audience becomes younger. Men participate somewhat more overall but are much more heavily represented in sports betting and casino-table play. Electronic and instant games reach a broader audience than traditional tables.

Income produces another split: higher-income people participate more, but lower-income gamblers can face greater proportional harm. Younger adults tend to use more different products, while older adults concentrate participation in fewer activities.

The most accurate demographic description is segmented rather than averaged. A mobile sportsbook customer, slot player, table-game visitor and lottery buyer should not be merged into one fictional “average gambler.” Product, channel, frequency and financial exposure provide more visitor value than a generic age-and-income stereotype.