Online Gambling Goes Down, Lottery Goes up in New Zealand

The entire world has been badly affected by the novel coronavirus (COVID 19) with the economy taking a beating in this pandemic. Some businesses have been altered due to the virus and the lottery industry is one of them.

Below mentioned are the details of how the pandemic has affected and changed the lottery business in New Zealand.

Less Gambling due to Lockdown

According to the study conducted by Nielsen and Health Promotion Agency bettors have significantly reduced their gambling and spending activities due to COVID 19. The sample size of the study was 1190 participants who were 18 years and above age.

The data showed that only 39% of participants had played any sort of lottery during the pandemic lockdown imposed by the government. Among the participants, 9% of players said that their lottery participation has increased while 41% said that it has remained stagnant.

The remaining 50% said that they have reduced their participation in lottery activities owing to the lockdown imposed by the government.

The study showed no significant difference in terms of gambling behaviour across different age groups but younger participants age 18-24 said they were playing the lottery in an elevated manner.

When asked about online presence, 8% of players said they used platforms or apps for the first time while 12% said they had started spending more time on the online lottery.

24% of respondents said they had reduced their overall gambling while 33% said their participation remained unchanged despite COVID 19 lockdown.

Reasons for Reduced Gambling Activity

During the study when respondents were asked what made them reduce their gambling activity, 50% of respondents said that they were worried about their personal finances and uncertainty brought by the pandemic.

13% of respondents said they realised that they have been gambling too much and hence controlled their spendings while 11% said that someone advised them against spending time and money on the lottery.

51% of respondents said that the pandemic lockdown forced them to play the lottery online as all the brick and mortar lottery stores and centers were shut.

When the respondents were asked about problem gambling 17% of them said they were concerned about their gambling habits while 9% said they were worried about their loved ones who were into gambling.

The response to the gambling problem was different across the age group. 28 % of the respondents who were of the age group 25-49 said they were worried about their online lottery playing habits. However, only 6% of respondents from the age group 50-64 were worried about lottery habits.

The biggest problem of the lottery is its addictiveness. Bettors who were addicted to the lottery spent a huge amount of money playing the game. The money spent on the lottery usually came from savings or borrowing money from friends and families.

Few Players Still Betting Actively

The study also showed that 34% of respondents started playing the online lottery because they were bored at home during the lockdown. Young respondents aged 18-24 increased their spendings on online lottery during the lockdown.

During the lockdown, the overall online gambling and lottery activities have spiked in New Zealand which has been mostly due to the closure of land-based betting venues.