UK punters prone to relying on ‘gut instinct’ reveals new survey

GO with your gut? Apparently not…

A surprising number of UK punters are over-reliant on gut instinct and intuition when it comes to placing their bets.

That's according to an AskGamblers survey of 1,000 regular UK sports bettors, which found that a whopping 59.48% of gamblers admitted to being confident when trusting their gut.

This trend is especially prevalent among regular sports bettors, with 59.48% expressing confidence in their ability to bet based on "gut feeling" alone.

To counter this, AskGamblers has launched a campaign urging British bettors to adopt a more data-driven, research-based approach that could lead to smarter, more reliable betting outcomes.

In the UK betting landscape, 54.49% of punters regularly rely on their instincts when placing sports bets.

Female bettors appear particularly inclined towards this approach, with 57.48% of women preferring gut feelings over research, compared to 52.66% of men.

Age also plays a role; Millennials and Generation Y (ages 28-34) are the most likely to rely on intuition, with 55.13% betting based on gut instinct. In contrast, the Silent Generation (ages 79+) is the least likely to follow this approach, at 50%.

But it turns out that backing a horse who wears the same colours as your tea towels, or picking lottery numbers based on a loved-ones birthday isn't a reliable strategy.

One-third (32%) of British bettors report regretting decisions made based on gut feeling, with men (33.98%) experiencing more regret than women (29.40%).

However, 7% of betting Brits say they never regret relying on instinct.

Interestingly, 64.67% of those who regularly bet based on intuition admit that calculated, research-driven bets generally lead to better outcomes.

Men are slightly more likely to acknowledge the benefits of research over intuition, with 65.54% of male bettors versus 63.25% of female bettors.

Many experienced bettors discourage novices from betting on gut instinct alone. Only 16.87% believe there's no harm in first-timers relying on intuition—possibly due to the myth of "beginner’s luck.

The data also indicates that UK football bettors, in particular, recognise the value of research.

72.52% recommend that first-time football bettors base their decisions on thorough analysis, likely due to poor outcomes from relying on gut feeling.

Bojana Djordjevic, Head of Editorial Content at AskGamblers, said: "The appealing thing about instinctive betting is that it feels personal.

"Think of people using their loved ones’ birthday dates in the lottery — the emotional weight tied to these choices makes any win difficult to forget. This connection often fosters an unrealistic loyalty to gut feelings."