As the old BT add used to say ‘its good to talk’ and that’s exactly what British online gambling site members are doing in their droves.

When it comes to building an online community it seems gambling sites in the UK possess the right ingredients via their inter active services.

As many as 40 per cent of online gamblers utilise the services of web-based forums, a new survey says.

After questioning 11,000 online gamers, a survey commissioned by the e-Commerce Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA) and carried out by Nottingham Trent University found that 40 per cent of them frequently used message boards and forums for information and fun.

Reasons given for visiting forums and reading message boards ranged from trying to find out business news, best bonuses, discussing the mathematics of gambling odds and responsible gambling and asking what other players' favourite games and online casinos are.

Another popular topic for discussion was the current US legislation on online gambling and news regarding the progress of opposition to America's internet gambling ban.

Those who visited message boards on forums did so frequently, mostly one to three times per day. Slightly fewer respondents visited between once and three times per week.

The findings of the report stated “ Players appeared to be spending more time thinking about how to play, developing their skills, and engaging in conversation about the behaviour.”

Thousands of members belong to the top forums and poker professionals have been known to post on message boards.

Statistics show that online players will be registered to more than one site at a time and as a result the relationships built up cross over between different online gambling providers.