Betting activity and horse racing

3 Nov 2020

Q. Which of the following best describes your regular betting activity?

	Total	Age			Gender
	Total	18-34	35-54	55+	Male	Female
I regularly bet on horse races and will place a bet on the Melbourne Cup	16%	18%	20%	10%	25%	8%
I rarely bet on horse races but will watch the Melbourne Cup and place a bet	26%	28%	26%	23%	25%	26%
I will watch the Melbourne Cup but will not place a bet	26%	17%	26%	35%	25%	28%
I have never been interested in the Melbourne Cup and will not place a bet	32%	36%	28%	32%	26%	38%
Base (n)	1,063	319	371	373	530	533

Around a third of people are not interested in the Melbourne Cup and will not place a bet on Tuesday (32%). A quarter (26%) will place a bet on the race, despite rarely betting and the same number will watch the race without betting (26%). The remaining 16% say they regularly bet on horse races and will place a bet on the Melbourne Cup.
Men are more likely than women to bet regularly on horse racing (25% to 8%).
Despite having less interest in horse racing than other age groups, people aged over 55 are just as likely to watch the Melbourne Cup or place a bet on the race (68%).

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