Brodband Bucks Up Online Gambling In The UK
Published: Friday, April 15, 2005 Online-Casinos.com
BROADBAND BUCKS UP ONLINE GAMBLING
More UK gamblers than last year
The excellent publication Silicon.com carried some useful information on the
British online gambling market this week, reporting that the industry continues
to grow at a rapid pace, with the increasing availability of broadband technology
playing an important role.
Quoting internet research company Nielsen//NetRatings,
the article reveals that the online gambling audience in the UK has increased
by 45 percent over this time last year, with 3.2 million visits to gambling sites
in February 2005.
The National Lottery is the most popular gambling site
for punters, with over 1.3 million visitors trying their luck from home this February
alone, making it one of the top 40 most visited sites in Great Britain. William
Hill came in second, followed by Party
Poker. Overall growth has been driven by a range of gambling, betting and
online casino sites, and not just by the National Lottery.
Gabrielle
Prior, European internet analyst at Nielsen//NetRatings, said: "We expect
to see this category continue to grow as advertising attracts consumers and the
sites add more and more games and prizes. "We know from earlier survey work
that UK gamblers like the speed and convenience of betting online, and as the
broadband boom continues, we expect more people to try online gambling."
Seventy five percent of UK gamblers were using a high-speed connection,
spending an average of 20 minutes online each time. Users on slower connections
spent 29 minutes online on average.
Across Europe, more than 14 million
people - about 14 percent of those online from home - visited a gambling or sweepstakes
site in February.
Gambling and sweepstake sites were most popular with
French and Swedish surfers, but have yet to make a mark in southern Europe, with
less than 10 percent of Spanish and Italians logging on to gamble, the research
firm said.
According to Nielsen//NetRatings, the top websites accessed
by UK gamblers from home are:
- The National Lottery
- William Hill
- Partypoker
- Ladbrokes
- Pacific Poker
- Cyberslotz
- The Gaming Club
- LoopyLotto
- Golden Palace Online Casino
- Vernons
