The present study sought to understand more about the day-to-day realities of how adults in Ireland gamble. An online survey was fielded to a sample of 1,000 people. The sample was designed to be representative of gamblers in Ireland. The criterion for inclusion in the study was that the individual had gambled at least once in the past year, excluding those who had only completed in-person purchases of lottery tickets or scratchcards. The survey explored each individual’s gambling behaviour in detail, including both online and in-person gambling. Questions included: the opening and number of accounts; receipt of notifications; prompts for gambling sessions; contexts in which gambling takes place; experience of gambling; and attempts to reduce gambling. The overall aim was to provide the most detailed understanding of gambling behaviour in Ireland to date.

Findings:

• 77% had gambled online in the previous year, compared with 59% in person. 44% did both.
• 75% of online gamblers placed at least one bet a week, versus 48% of people gambling in person.
• 54% of those who opened an online gambling account went on to open a second, while 10% had four or more accounts.

One in seven said their most recent online gambling session directly followed an email, app notification or gambling ad. Among those receiving app notifications, more than one in four received them at least daily.

• 57% of online gamblers and 50% of in-person gamblers lost money during their most recent session. 26% of online gamblers said they lost "a lot".
• 25% said they were trying to reduce their gambling or planned to. Of those already trying, one in three were still gambling the same amount or more than a year earlier.
• Around one in five online gambling sessions interrupted another activity, most frequently work. Around one in seven in-person sessions displaced another activity, most commonly time with friends or family.