Every December, Pornhub publishes its yearly statistics, reflecting on the top trends and viewers’ preferences in the past 12 months. The detailed stats give valuable insights into the audiences of the adult website – their search trends, favorite categories and videos, and on-site behavior.
You may ask: what does all of this have to do with gambling? In fact, a lot. The adult industry and gambling have a lot in common – it is a favorite pastime of many adult people and yet there is a lot of prejudice about both industries. What is more, people mostly watch adult videos and play gambling games online on specialized websites. So, one may say that the audiences of porn websites and iGaming platforms overlap. As Pornhub says in its yearly report: “Many of these terms define 2022 not just on Pornhub but in mainstream media as well.”
That is why we at GBC Time decided to make a little experiment and drew some analogies between porn and gambling trends. Just for sake of it, we have selected some of Pornhub’s 2022 tendencies that we believe can work for the iGaming industry as well. Please, note that this is not serious research but rather a fun article.
Search trends – reality, outdoors, and group activities rise to the top
Search inquiries show what people are looking for when opening an adult website. And in some cases, it works for iGaming too. As it appears, in 2022, many Pornhub viewers looked for:
- Reality content – searches in this category grew by 169% worldwide;
- Gender – increased by 75% since 2021;
- Group – rose to the #4 place worldwide, growing by 34%;
- Outdoors – grew by 121% and is included in the top 10 worldwide categories.
Let’s look at how each of these categories correlates with online casinos, sportsbooks, and other iGaming niches.
Reality
In the adult industry, the searches for “reality” grew by 169%, reaching the top 20 list for the first time in history. It also became the most searched category in four ex-soviet countries – Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus.
One more interesting take is that women are more interested in reality content than men. Females view this content 37% more than males. In 2022, 33% more gay people searched for homemade videos.
So, the Pornhub study shows that in 2022 people crave real-life experience more than ever. For many, it is no longer about the flawless image. People want to watch someone like them and have virtual experiences they can relate to.
All of this is also true for the gambling industry. The past year saw a great expansion of the live dealer games, which closely resemble real casino experiences. Slots indeed remain the most popular game of chance. But at the same time, more and more players want to feel a “real” casino experience from the comfort of their own homes.
Gender
No doubt that gender identity and inclusivity are big topics of 2022. Pornhub statistics also reflect this trend, with the gender category growing by 75% in the past 12 months, moving to 7th place worldwide. Such terms as “non-binary”, “gender x”, and “androgynous” are becoming more and more popular in the audience of the adult industry. These videos are especially popular among Millennials (34% growth since 2021) and Gen X viewers (25% increase).
For every industry, let alone a liberal one such as online gambling, the gender identity of the player becomes a significant factor. More and more online casinos and sportsbooks use gender-inclusive language and approaches in their marketing campaigns. iGaming providers also should consider non-gender-conforming audiences in their latest slot releases.
Outdoors
After two years of strict lockdowns and covid-19 policies, people are eager to go outside and enjoy some fun activities. So, it’s no wonder that the Outdoors category on Pornhub joined top-10 worldwide, rising by 121% in the past years. Some of the most searched terms were ”camping”, “tent”, “travel”, “hotel”, and even “business trip.”
In our opinion, it is a sign for every business out there that travel and outdoor activities are back in style. For the gambling industry, it may mean a few things:
- The comeback of brick-and-mortar casinos;
- More offline events and gatherings, which we have already seen this year. To read about the most anticipated iGaming events of January 2023, click the link;
- More destination-themed slots and gambling games.
Anime & Japanese
One of the top searches on PornHub in 2022 was anime and animated adult movies. Animated Japanese movies are traditionally topping the charts of user searches. iGaming operators also realized the popularity of anime a long time ago. Nowadays, there are hundreds of anime-themed slots and it seems their number will only grow.
User demographics
In its research, Pornhub studied not only the preferences of its audience but have depicted an image of its target client. As we said earlier, the visitors to adult and gambling sites are often the same people. So, let’s take a look at the main trends in the adult site visitor demographics
The number of women interested in adult content grows
Women are indeed going to conquer the world. The female audience of adult entertainment, be it porn videos or games of chance, gradually increases. Pornhub stats prove this trend. While the majority (64%) of the site visitor is still men, the proportion of female visitors grows non-stop. In 2022, 36% of all Pornhub audience were women, which is 4% more than in the last year.
Some countries, like the Philippines (53%) and Colombia (51%) have more female viewers than male. So, adult service providers should consider women’s interests when creating their products. Some of the categories popular among women include group, reality, and gender.
The exact same trend is true for the gambling industry, where women begin to take more interest in traditionally male products – sports betting, fantasy sports betting, esports betting, etc.
Age & location: gen Z audience grows
Just like gambling, the adult industry is dominated by young people – Millennials and Gen Zers. While an average age of a Pornhub visitor is 37, 53% of all viewers are younger than 35.
What is more, the proportion of young adults (aged 18 to 24) is gradually growing – from 25% in 2021 to 27% in 2022. Soon Gen Z will dictate the trends in every niche – from online gambling to eCommerce.
As for the location of adult sites visitor, they can be found on literally every continent. This year, for the first time, an African country – Egypt – made it to Pornhub’s top 20 list. Most of the users, however, are located either in Europe (e.g., the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Poland, Belgium) or America (the US, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, etc.). It seems that Brazil, the Philippines along with Egypt have the youngest audience, while in some EU states like Sweden and Belgium young adults make up only 14% of the viewership.
It seems that the same approach should be considered in the iGaming industry. In countries without long gambling history, like the US or LATAM, younger people are more likely to gamble and they do it online. European states with an extensive gambling tradition have older gamblers that are used to brick-and-mortar casinos and gaming halls.
Generation Z trends: VR, Cosplay, and Cartoons
As established earlier, Gen Z will soon become the key demographic for the adult or any entertainment industry. So, let’s see what kind of content young adults prefer.
The categories that stand out as top for Gen Zers are:
- Group, as people aged 18-24 are 115% more likely to watch these videos;
- Cosplay and Cartoon – young people enjoy watching animated videos or clips with their favorite movie or video games. In fact, Gen Zers are 72% more into cosplay and 58% more into cartoons than other age groups. We will look into this trend more below;
- Virtual Reality, as Gen Z viewers are twice as likely to watch VR content, compared to other groups. This trend is definitely evident in the iGaming niche as well. While there is no VR slot or casino yet, there is a big demand for such content. In fact, Mad Pixel Studios have already released an AR slot machine.
Harley Quinn, Star Wars, 365 Day – most searched movies and characters
Movies and cinematic characters are always in trend for all kinds of content – from slot games to adult videos. As seen from the Pornhub infographics, all-time classics like Harley Quinn, Star Wars, and Wonder Woman are still leading the chart. Movie and cartoon-themed slots and games are also a big hit in slot development. They can also be one of the secrets to attracting the Gen Z audience.
Fortnite stands as the most searched video game
The other category that works for both adult films and gambling is video games. In porn and other adult entertainment, video game-themed videos are in demand among younger audiences. Namely, Fortnite, Overwatch, Minecraft, and Cyberpunk are some of the most searched video titles.
When it comes to gambling, there is a separate niche called esports betting, where people wager on the outcome of their favorite video games and cybersports tournaments. Cybersports gambling rose to prominence during the global pandemic and continues to grow these days.
Changes in user behavior in 2022
Mobile phones bring the most traffic
When it comes to content, mobile is king. This is true for both the gambling and adult film industries. In 2022, 97% of Pornhub users watched videos from mobile devices.
While smartphone traffic continues to grow (84% of all global views), the number of views from tables drastically dropped – by 34%. Now, it accounts only for 3% of all traffic, even less than desktop views (13%). Some countries (Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, and Belgium), however, still have above 20% views coming from tablets.
This is the trend that we are likely to see in any digital industry, let alone such mobile-oriented niches as online gambling. While some players prefer to go to brick-and-mortar venues, the major of gamblers play on their smartphones.
Younger people spend less time on the site
The other interesting insight from Pornhub is that people tend to spend less and less time on adult sites. This is especially true for younger audiences, aged 18-34. In 2022, the average viewing session was just under 10 minutes – 9 minutes and 54 seconds.
With the rising popularity of short content formats like TikTok videos or Instagram Reels, people do not want to spend much time on one website. This is also true for gambling platforms. Although a gaming session typically lasts longer than a visit to an adult website, it is still relatively short. For instance, the Gambling Commission of the UK reports that 80% of slot sessions last no longer than 17 minutes.
Most people visit adult sites before going to bed
Lastly, Pornhub studied people’s favorite times to visit adult websites. Since it is a leisure activity, we can assume that the same trends work for online casinos and sportsbooks.
The infographic above shows that most people go to adult sites before going to bed – at 11 pm. The peak time for visiting the website is 11 pm on Monday. Some of the prime hours are also midnight and 4-5 pm.
Conclusion
The adult industry is very similar to online gambling. Both markets are rapidly growing, adapting to the changes of the modern world. As seen from the article above, some industry trends intersect. Based on the porn industry trends, we have outlined some tendencies that can be useful for iGaming brands in 2023:
- Pay attention to Gen Z and female customers – soon they are going to dictate market trends;
- Focus on creating content that resembles real life;
- Cosplay and animated elements will be a big part of adult entertainment in 2023;
- Mobile gaming only continues to grow;
- Audiences do not spend much time on the websites so it is crucial to capture their attention in the first 10 minutes.
