It's Not A Gen Z Thing

Mobile apps are changing how we interact with the world, but one thing will always be true: Age drives habits, and gambling habits will evolve with age, not just tech.

Two iconic Simpsons memes fit with today’s column:

• Helen Lovejoy, “Won’t somebody please think of the children!”

• Principal Skinner, “Am I out of touch? No, it’s the children who are wrong.”

Today’s column explores Gen Z and the gambling industry’s ongoing efforts to engage younger audiences.

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As Earnings+More wrote:

“Gen Z isn’t merely the next wave of consumers, it's an entirely new mindset transforming how betting and gaming content is experienced, shared, and monetized.

“Such is the thesis emanating from a blog post written by startup finding vehicle Drive by DraftKings which suggests that at its core, Gen Z is rewiring expectations. It is a generation which is ‘redefining how products are built, how brands are experienced, and how value is captured.’”

Yes, every generation exhibits different behaviors, but ultimately, it’s not the generation that drives the difference; it’s the age.

I know everyone will hate to admit this, but as we age, we become increasingly like our parents’ generation, who also became more like their parents’ generation as they aged.

My thesis is that people tend to gamble more as they age.

This is true for most things. As people age, they tend to purchase homes. A more innocuous statistic is that 48% of US adults aged 55 and older are regular wine drinkers, whereas only 14% of US adults aged 21–30 drank wine weekly, and 38% did not drink wine at all.

I doubt it’s a Gen Z thing. It’s an age thing.

Circling back to gambling spend, the most recent annual Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Association’s Visitor Profile, which consistently provides interesting data, found that the gaming budget by generation is down year-over-year, except for Millennials.

Hmm, I wonder why (Millennials are now 29-44 years old, in 2015 they were 19-34).

Here’s what I wrote in 2015 (yeah, ten years ago!):

“Casinos might be better off waiting 10 years (until the millennials are 30+) before they market their gambling options to millennials. Unfortunately, they’ll probably disregard the “old” millennials in 10 years and be busy working on ways to bring Generation Z into the gambling fold… and getting frustrated at their lack of penetration.

It’s an Age Thing

I seem to write this article every few years, so I’ll simply continue to copy and paste from previous columns.

Six years later, the industry had moved on from Millennials (who almost assuredly aged into gambling), and in 2021, I wrote this about Gen Zs when people were highlighting that they place smaller wagers and are more social:

“In 2015, the casino industry was obsessed with millennials and why the generation wasn’t gambling. For several years, every conference and far too many articles and conversations focused on making gambling more appealing to the ‘cool kids’… Fast forward to 2021, and before the industry had solved the millennial puzzle, it had apparently already moved on to Generation Z.

“But maybe, and hear me out here, the industry never had a millennial problem, nor does it need to shift its focus to Generation Z. Maybe the problem was never really a problem and has solved itself as millennials age into gambling.”

Let’s come back to the E+M entry on the Drive by DraftKings blog post: “Raised in a digital-first ecosystem brimming with algorithmic content and real-time interactions, this cohort demands entertainment that feels interactive, social, and personalised... They see sports – and, by extension, betting – as shared experiences, not solitary pastimes.”

• If Drive by DraftKings existed in 1965, it would have written, “Raised in a world of expanding television networks and live broadcasts, this generation craves entertainment that’s engaging, communal, and tailored to their tastes.”

• And in 1985: “Raised in an era of cable TV and VHS tapes, this generation seeks entertainment that’s dynamic, shared with friends, and customized to their preferences.”

• And in 2005, “Raised in an age of early internet streaming and reality TV, this generation demands entertainment that’s interactive, social, and personalized to their interests.”

• And in 1225, “Raised in a time of wandering minstrels and rowdy feast-hall stories, this crowd craves entertainment that’s lively, shared with drinking buddies, and that rouses the crowd or sparks a brawl… with some even betting on who’d win the brawl.”

We were all more social when we were younger, and I hate to break it to you, but as Gen Z ages, their tastes (and betting behaviors) will change.

As I wrote in the newsletter just over a year ago: