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3 in 10 Brits Have Skipped a Shower or a Meal to Play Video Games in Lockdown
More Brits than ever played video games last year to beat the boredom of staying home, and our third lockdown in 2021 has seen the trend gain even more traction. With games being released on more platforms, and more genres than ever now is an excellent time to be a gamer!
Fresh Student Living took a deep dive into the gaming industry in the UK to see just what an impact Covid has had on gaming.
More than four in ten UK gamers say they’ve been gaming more during the COVID-19 outbreak (43%). Plus, UK gamers now make up over two thirds of the population (67%); six in ten of this group say they play mobile games (52%); a quarter PC games (25%); and three in ten console games (28%).
When the pandemic first put a stop to everyday life, the gaming world expanded with regular players putting in even more time, and new people joining the trend to connect with friends, kill time and indulge in much-needed escapism. As more people picked up controllers, the UK gaming population exploded by a whopping 63%! People reported feeling happier and calmer, with a higher sense of freedom, thanks to how immersive the best video games are.
The Average Gamer Spent the Equivalent of 39 Days Playing Last Year
Games like FIFA 21, Call of Duty, Animal Crossing and Last of Us were some of the most played games of 2020, with 3 in 10 people skipping showers and meals to play uninterrupted. Almost 6 in 10 Brits also admit to losing sleep due to gaming sessions.
Pre lockdown, the average gamer spent around 13 hours a week playing their favourites. This increased by 5 hours during lockdown with Brits spending 18 hours or more exploring new worlds online – that’s equivalent to 39 whole days spent gaming!
The average gamer usually sets aside a conservative 1-3 hours to play, but in the UK, at least 3% of the population confesses to playing for 15 hours or more in one sitting.
What Video Games is Everyone Playing?
Most Played Video Games of 2020 According to Units Sold
FIFA 21 dominated in 2020 as one of the most anticipated games in the UK, with around 14 games selling per second in the UK last year.
- FIFA 21 (2.18 million)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (1.4 million)
- Grand Theft Auto 5 (1.1 million)
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons (800,000)
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (660,000)
- The Last of Us Part II (530,000)
- NBA 2K20 (480,000)
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (430,000)
More Brits Are Hooked on Video Games
Lockdown has given us all more time to kill, and today the split between male and female video gamers is strictly 50-50. In the UK, 54% of men and women play a game most days, lowering stress and connecting with others being two of the primary motivators.
Multiplayer Games Keep us Connected
With time to kill and social distancing in effect for most of last year, multiplayer games’ popularity soared as more people jumped online to chat and connect. Even ex-gamers again picked up their controllers to join online communities playing games like Call of Duty, Animal Crossing or Fortnite.
Unsurprisingly, lockdown saw most Brits opt for action-packed and interactive genres, with most gamers choosing fighting, action and huge multiplayer Battle Royale games with lots of other players!
Most played genres in 2020
- Fighting – 81%
- Action – 79%
- Massively multiplayer online games – 78%
- Multiplayer online battle arena games – 75%
The Rise of Covideogamers in 2021
Lockdown has massively changed the gaming community across the world. In the UK, younger gamers spend loads of time playing while self-isolating and spend around two hours a month watching other people play online – a pastime that has increased since lockdown began.
The pandemic has also created a whole new subgenre of gamers known as Covideogamers, who exclusively started gaming during lockdown. Compared to 36% of existing gamers between the ages of 18 – 34, Covideogamers now make up 46% of the population in the same age group – 35% of these new gamers have also admitted it’s so relaxing and stress-relieving, they’re going to start playing more, long after lockdown ends!
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1spin4win
1spin4win presents Lucky 1spin4win Hold and Win to mark its 5th anniversary
On May 14, 2026, 1spin4win reached a significant milestone — five years on the iGaming market. The anniversary motto, The Gold Standard of Classic Slots, reflects the studio’s evolution into a recognized name in the classic slot niche, built on years of industry expertise and commitment to delivering authentic gambling experiences.
Today, its portfolio features more than 200 games combining timeless appeal, advanced mathematics, and strong performance. In 2025, 1spin4win achieved a 52.06% increase in bet count and a 56.62% rise in GGR compared to 2024. This growth has helped the provider earn the trust of over 1,000 global operators, including leading brands such as SOFTSWISS, EveryMatrix, Alea, SoftGaming, Digitain, and BetConstruct.
As part of the milestone celebration, 1spin4win introduces Lucky 1spin4win Hold and Win, a special slot highlighting the studio’s landmark titles and renowned characters. Alongside traditional fruit, bells, and sevens, the colorful 3×3 grid features Wild symbols shaped as red bezel-set diamonds. When activated, they illuminate the “5 Years” sign, reinforcing the game’s anniversary theme.
The celebratory atmosphere continues through the slot’s rewarding features. Landing nine identical symbols doubles the win, while three or more Coins trigger the exciting Hold and Win Bonus round. With three starting respins, players get the chance to claim two festive Jackpots — the x100 Minipot Coin and the x1000 Megapot.
To mark the 5-year anniversary, 1spin4win is also launching special promotional campaigns in collaboration with Olymp and Selector. To give players additional opportunities to join the celebration, the partners will distribute exclusive promo codes, which will also be available to the registered users of the provider’s Players Room platform.
Olga Hlukhovskaya, Business Development Director at 1spin4win, commented, “Five years in the industry is an important testament to how far 1spin4win has come. Since 2021, we’ve grown into an acknowledged iGaming brand trusted by top global companies. Looking ahead, we plan to keep expanding across African and Latin American markets, deepen our relationships with regional operators, and further strengthen our presence in Europe. For us, this anniversary is not only about celebrating past achievements, but also about building the next stage of 1spin4win’s journey.
Olga Bogdanova, Art Director at 1spin4win, shared, “Lucky 1spin4win Hold and Win is dedicated to the 1spin4win 5th anniversary in the casino industry. The game’s design brings together iconic characters and signature symbols from our previous releases, well-known to both our players and partners. The result is a vibrant product featuring engaging Hold and Win mechanics and the recognizable 1spin4win classic style. We invite everyone to join the celebration of our anniversary, test their luck in the slot, compete for festive jackpots, and revisit their favorite 1spin4win games!”
About 1spin4win
1spin4win is an established game provider founded in May 2021 by ambitious developers with over 15 years of experience in the gambling industry. Since its inception, the company has expanded its portfolio to include over 200 classic online slots, all characterized by quality mathematics, transparent mechanics, and well-balanced gameplay — key factors that drive strong player retention. The studio aims to release an average of four new games each month in 2026 and offers effective promotional tools for casino operators to help them enhance player loyalty.
The post 1spin4win presents Lucky 1spin4win Hold and Win to mark its 5th anniversary appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Games
Stake releases Zoo casino game: a fast, multiplayer Stake Original where players bet on the wild side
A new live-round Stake Original where every player bets on the same outcome – six animals, a 20-tile track, three results per round, and wins up to 1,000x in play.
Stake, the world’s largest online casino and sportsbook, has today launched its Zoo casino game, a new multiplayer Stake Original that brings every player into the same live round to bet on six animals across a 20-tile track. Available worldwide on Stake, Zoo is the latest title to join the growing Stake Originals collection.
Zoo takes the shared-round excitement that has made games like Crash a Stake Originals staple and pairs it with simpler, more visual decision-making. Each round, six animals – Lion, Cheetah, Elephant, Crocodile, Rhino, and Penguin – appear on a 20-tile circular track, with each animal showing up a different number of times to create clear volatility tiers and payout differences across the board. Players have ten seconds to back one or more animals before the track spins up and locks in three result tiles in the center of the screen.
Zoo launches with a 98% RTP, a top multiplier of 1,000x per round, and full auto bet controls that let players preset their wager amount, number of rounds, and chosen animals. Designed as a simpler, more visual evolution of popular casino games like Roulette and Sic Bo, Zoo strips back the complexity without compromising on depth. The rarer the animal, the bigger the reward – Lion and Cheetah each appear only once on the track, Elephant and Crocodile twice, Rhino four times, and Penguin ten, giving players a clear read on the risk and payout of every play. With three result tiles drawn each round, players win based on how many times their chosen animal lands across all three.
“Zoo is exactly the kind of game we want Stake Originals to be known for – fast, simple to pick up, and genuinely fun to play in an online setting filled with other players. There’s real tension in watching the three tiles land for the whole table at once, and we think players are going to find their favourite animals pretty quickly,” said Stake’s Chief Marketing Officer, Akhil Sarin.
Zoo joins a growing line-up of in-house multiplayer game creations on Stake Casino, with the goal of keeping every Stake Original easy to learn, quick to play, and a little bit different from anything else in the iGaming industry.
About Stake
Stake is the world’s largest online casino and sportsbook, attracting over 100 million monthly visits across its global domains – more than any other iGaming platform on earth. Founded in 2017, Stake attracts over 80 million monthly visits and processes more than 100 billion bets per year. Stake is renowned for its innovation in crypto wagering and its growing expansion into regulated local-currency gaming markets, including Italy, Denmark, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. The brand boasts an extensive global sponsorship portfolio including Drake, X Games, Everton Football Club, and the UFC.
Contact
Stake.com
The post Stake releases Zoo casino game: a fast, multiplayer Stake Original where players bet on the wild side appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Games
Stake releases Zoo casino game: a fast, multiplayer Stake Original where players bet on the wild side
A new live-round Stake Original where every player bets on the same outcome – six animals, a 20-tile track, three results per round, and wins up to 1,000x in play.
Stake, the world’s largest online casino and sportsbook, has today launched its Zoo casino game, a new multiplayer Stake Original that brings every player into the same live round to bet on six animals across a 20-tile track. Available worldwide on Stake, Zoo is the latest title to join the growing Stake Originals collection.
Zoo takes the shared-round excitement that has made games like Crash a Stake Originals staple and pairs it with simpler, more visual decision-making. Each round, six animals – Lion, Cheetah, Elephant, Crocodile, Rhino, and Penguin – appear on a 20-tile circular track, with each animal showing up a different number of times to create clear volatility tiers and payout differences across the board. Players have ten seconds to back one or more animals before the track spins up and locks in three result tiles in the center of the screen.
Zoo launches with a 98% RTP, a top multiplier of 1,000x per round, and full auto bet controls that let players preset their wager amount, number of rounds, and chosen animals. Designed as a simpler, more visual evolution of popular casino games like Roulette and Sic Bo, Zoo strips back the complexity without compromising on depth. The rarer the animal, the bigger the reward – Lion and Cheetah each appear only once on the track, Elephant and Crocodile twice, Rhino four times, and Penguin ten, giving players a clear read on the risk and payout of every play. With three result tiles drawn each round, players win based on how many times their chosen animal lands across all three.
“Zoo is exactly the kind of game we want Stake Originals to be known for – fast, simple to pick up, and genuinely fun to play in an online setting filled with other players. There’s real tension in watching the three tiles land for the whole table at once, and we think players are going to find their favourite animals pretty quickly,” said Stake’s Chief Marketing Officer, Akhil Sarin.
Zoo joins a growing line-up of in-house multiplayer game creations on Stake Casino, with the goal of keeping every Stake Original easy to learn, quick to play, and a little bit different from anything else in the iGaming industry.
About Stake
Stake is the world’s largest online casino and sportsbook, attracting over 100 million monthly visits across its global domains – more than any other iGaming platform on earth. Founded in 2017, Stake attracts over 80 million monthly visits and processes more than 100 billion bets per year. Stake is renowned for its innovation in crypto wagering and its growing expansion into regulated local-currency gaming markets, including Italy, Denmark, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. The brand boasts an extensive global sponsorship portfolio including Drake, X Games, Everton Football Club, and the UFC.
Contact
Stake.com
The post Stake releases Zoo casino game: a fast, multiplayer Stake Original where players bet on the wild side appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
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