UK Online Gambling Highest in Four Years

Published: Friday, May 22, 2009 Online-Casinos.com

The Gambling Commission survey, conducted by ICM Research, polls a nationally representative sample of 2,000 adults once each quarter, with the results presented as an annual figure by averaging the results of four quarterly surveys. The Remote Gambling Participation Survey for the year to March 2009 has revealed remarkable results.
The proportion of UK adults participating in remote forms of gambling has risen to its highest level in four years according to the data published by the UK Gambling Commission. Driven by the National Lottery, remote gambling participation was found to have increased to 9.9% for the year to March 2009, compared to 9.7% in 2008, 8.8% in 2007 and 7.2% in 2006.
The growth in remote gambling is driven largely by increased online participation in the National Lottery. Excluding those who play National Lottery games remotely via the Internet, mobile or interactive TV, 5.6% of respondents said they had participated in remote gambling during the year, the same number as in 2008. This compares to 5.2% in 2007 and 5.1% in 2006. Internet gambling continues to be the most popular method of remote gambling participation, while mobile gambling ranked the second most popular. Interactive TV remained stable at the same level of participation as last year. Sports betting with 2.6%. National Lottery scratchcards were the second most popular online participation with 2.4% of respondents, with poker rooms and other lotteries at 1.8% and 1.6%, and casino and bingo at 1.0% and 1.1% respectively. A demographic of those participating in remote gambling remain more likely to be male, with 12.2% of men having played remotely versus 7.7% of women, with the most active age group being 25-34 years old at 15.9% of respondents in the age range.