Casino affiliate website AskGamblers has revealed that the majority of sports bettors in the UK are more inclined to place a bet on a hunch rather than taking a separate approach that is grounded in metrics.
As part of the company’s “Gut Instinct” campaign, a survey pool of 1,000 regular UK sports bettors returned what AskGamblers has called “alarming” feedback, where 54.49% of the surveyed said that they rely on intuition when wagering.
The campaign aims to raise awareness around the risks of betting and how the unorthodox way of placing a bet by ‘trusting your guts’ could amplify them and lead to bad financial decisions.
AskGamblers itself was established in 2006 as a casino affiliate website with the main goal of providing necessary resources that would facilitate safer gambling behavior in players.
The service is available in multiple big European languages, including English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, as well as Japanese.
Taking a deep dive into the survey, we can see that UK women who bet are more likely (57.48%) to rely on their gut instincts when placing bets on a sport of their choice, when compared to their male counterparts (52.66%).
Of these, the age bracket that is most likely to bet without any scientific backing are millennials aged between 28 and 43. The sport that attracts such high-risk players the most is basketball, with a total share of 60%.
Looking at the aftermath of such rash decisions however, men are more likely to regret their choice of placing an instinctive bet (33.98%) compared to females (29.40%), with millennials again taking the lion’s share of the table (36.61%).
Perhaps unsurprising to some, those who bet on football have the lowest success rate when placing a bet on sheer gut instinct, with a total of 63.67% of football punters agreeing that it is the least effective method.
Paradoxically, 73.35% of those surveyed “acknowledge” that relying on intuition hides more risks than placing data-driven bets, with 70% of bettors advising newcomers to first conduct thorough research before going through with a bet.
Irena Ducic, Content Editor at AskGamblers, commented: “The study highlights a common issue in sports betting: while intuition may feel like a quick shortcut, it’s often misleading. With 59% of UK bettors relying on gut instincts, it’s alarming that nearly two-thirds continue this behavior despite knowing the financial risks. A concerning 32% regret following their instincts, yet one in five persist even after repeated losses, revealing a widespread denial among bettors.
“What’s striking is the misplaced confidence, with over a third of UK bettors wrongly believing their instincts outperform data. This gap points to the need for better education on data-driven strategies and shifting the focus from intuition to informed decision-making.
“Instinctive betting feels personal, often driven by loyalty to favorite teams or players, making wins feel more rewarding. However, it’s ultimately unpredictable, and unreliable. Relying on gut instincts in sports betting is both financially and emotionally draining, with the risks far outweighing the rewards.”
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