Slight increase in UK remote gaming
Posted by Gavin Smith on 03 Jun 2009 at 09:06
The number of British adult gamers having a flutter using remote channels has increased slightly over the last 12 months, new figures suggest.
Figures from the Gambling Commission show that to March this year, 9.9 per cent of 8,000 surveyed adults said they had taken part in at least one kind of remote gaming in the last year.
I Gaming Business reports the results showed people were using computers, interactive and digital television, and mobile phones to gamble.
The survey showed the 9.9 per cent figure is compared to 9.7 per cent for the 2008 year, and 8.8 per cent for 2007, to 7.2 per cent for 2006.
However, more than nine out of 10 people questioned by the survey said they had not taken part in any type of remote gaming.
I Gaming Business added the gambling commission had put the slight growth down to the extra interest in the national lottery over the internet.
The commission also said that 5.6 per cent of those who took part had tried their hand at online gaming in the year to March 2009 when the National Lottery is excluded, the same rate as 2008.
A total of 7.5 per cent of those questioned said they had gambled on National Lottery tickets in the last month only or in addition to other types of gaming.
Sports are also one of the most popular forms of remote gaming, according to the survey, with 2.6 per cent of people having a flutter on an event.
This has grown by 2.4 per cent for 2006 to 2007. Also popular was poker, at 1.8 per cent, while also registering were National Lottery scratch cards and other forms of lottery.
According to I Gaming Business, the commission also said people taking part in remote gaming were most likely to be men aged 18 to 44, playing via a computer and the web.
Other popular forms of remote gaming include playing through a mobile phone at 2.8 per cent, while 2.1 per cent used interactive and digital television.
