One in three Great Britons has downloaded a sports-betting application at some point, according to calculations by software manufacturer SplitMetrics Agency. The data was released Monday morning.
SplitMetrics reported that Englanders had made 20 million downloads of sports-betting software from the Google Play Store, with two million new users this year. In the week beginning June 17, 124,000 Android betting-application users were added, making for a 96 percent increase in new users over the previous week.
Significant horse races at Cheltenham, plus the Grand National, drove the large download increases, according to SplitMetrics. Cheltenham spurred 143,000 downloads compared to a typical weekly average of 79,000. These were the highest download weeks of the year so far.
The upcoming Paris Olympics are expected by the agency to motivate another rise in betting activity. As many as four million new users are predicted.
The year to date has seen a 30 percent uptick in sports-wagering downloads from the Google Play Store, per SplitMetrics figures. The company further projected a “record-breaking year” for sports betting in the United Kingdom.
The fortnight leading up to the start of the Euro 2024 soccer tournament witnessed a 30 percent spike in downloads, with 126,000 downloads compared to the 96,000 made during the same two weeks in 2023.
Most downloaded were applications for bet365, Paddy Power, Sky Bet, Coral and Betfair. The leading firms for lifetime downloads are bet365, Sky Bet, Paddy Power, William Hill, and Ladbrokes.
“Each download represents a new user for these businesses which, if converted to long-term customers, would have a huge impact on their bottom line. An accessible and seamless user experience will be a big factor in whether these apps will be able to retain the new users and convert them into loyal customers,” said SplitMetrics Agency General Manager Thomas Kriebernegg, in a statement.
