Most people spend several hours a day on their devices, whether that’s binge-watching shows, shopping, exploring social media or playing games. With the world at our fingertips, it’s easy to lose track of time in the digital universe, as we get our fixes of entertainment.
Two of the most popular pastimes that people engage with on devices are online gambling and social media. Both sectors have seen a massive explosion in user bases and engagement over the last two decades, and neither shows a sign of slowing up either.
Interestingly, while there are only a handful of major social media sites, things are very different in the world of online gambling. Just look at casinosonline.ph and you will find an enormous amount of platform options.
Total Time Online
A 2024 report from Ofcom, which regulates communication services in the UK, found that UK adults spend an average of 4h and 20m online every day. The 18-24 demographic naturally beats that with an average of 6h and 1m online per day, while the lowest hours of engagement were by the 65+ group at 3h and 10m per day. Of the total hours spent online every day, UK users spend 48% of it on social media.
Social Media Boom
There are an estimated 56.2 million people in the UK who are active on Social Media according to numbers released in January 2025. That represents more than 80% of the entire population, which is a staggering amount of people.
The UK’s average was well above that of the global average of social media users as well, which is around 62%. An expected increase of up to around 65 million users is expected in the next two years, and the rate of social media penetration in the UK is already higher than anywhere else in Europe.
All that leads to an expectancy of the average usage time per person to be quite high, and it is. Users on social media for around 1hr and 49 minutes per day on average, with the figure collated from six platforms including Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. Of those, TikTok is the platform that users engage with the longest.
Does Social Media Beat Gambling?
The UK’s online gambling revenue in 2024 was second only to that of the USA, with Australia coming in third. When questioned for a 2024 survey, around 28% of UK consumers responded that they had gambled at least once during the year.
That number is projected to rocket up by more than 7% for the forthcoming year as well, but it’s still well below the expected 13% revenue rise on the global scene.
Gambling is a deeply ingrained thing in UK culture, and so there is a huge market for it. The popularity of online sportsbooks and casinos has just added to the increased opportunities for partaking in the pastime.
Around 25% of all UK online gamblers use slot machines, which is one of the most popular genres, beating out traditional casino table games which around 17% of consumers reported as using. Online slots use is second only to the number of people that play the country’s national lottery online.
Online casinos which are available 24/7 of course provide a great deal of convenience for players, rather than undergoing the cumbersome task of visiting a physical location. That has played a big part in driving up the number of users and engagement in gambling.
Read more : Why Social Media Clearance with ID is Necessary?
Timing Gambling
It’s difficult to pinpoint the average time spent per person on average at online casino sites. People will naturally have different parameters for playing sessions. A slots’ session for example can go by quickly, but someone nursing a small bankroll could spend a lot more time on a machine, and stake far less than someone playing big wagers at the blackjack table. It’s estimated that in Las Vegas, the gambling capital of the world, people average 4 hours per day gambling over an average of 4 days.
In Summary
Either way, people are spending more time than ever online in total, and both social media and online gambling make up a huge portion of that. Since 2013 it’s estimated that the average screen time per day has gone up by more than 30 minutes. The vast amount of online activities that people have at their disposal is only going to see that number increase year-on-year in the future.
