Consumer online search volumes pertaining to sports betting, poker, bingo and casino, have suffered their sharpest drop yet in the UK, according to a report digital marketing agency Greenlight.
Search habits made on Google UK during July revealed that the overall number of gaming-related searches dropped 34% to 995,830 on the 1,5 million figure achieved the month before and was the sharpest drop in search numbers since August 2012.
News of the drop in iGaming-related queries in the UK comes after the government’s announcement of the 15% point of consumption tax on operators due to be implemented in December 2014 depending on the type of gambling offered and warnings from bookies on losses to come from the planned tax reform set to kick in next year.
Mark Newton, Digital Account Director at Greenlight, commented, “The summer months are traditionally a little slower for many online gambling providers. Compliments of this year’s exceptional one (summer), gaming providers have likely had to ‘share’ their potential pool of punters with a greater range of alternative leisure and outdoor activities over an even longer period of time, which would see them spend less time online. However, as autumn encroaches, darker evenings coupled with the start of the major sporting season in the UK, will likely see providers preparing for the punters return. This could well be in even greater droves, given the ever-improving mobile capabilities which will help further propel gaming-on-the-go via mobile devices.”
Paddy Power topped the search results for organic listings with a 44% share of voice while William Hill was the most visible advertiser in paid listings, securing a 75% share of visibility. Betfair had the highest number of YouTube views while Paddy Power had the highest number of subscribers to its channel.
Casino made up the majority of July’s iGaming search queries, accounting for a 35% share, followed by sports betting (31%), bingo (18%) and poker (16%).
