The Gambling Commission’s latest survey has found that online gambling is continuing to grow in popularity. It has also discovered that the main demographic group who gamble online is male and aged 18 – 34.
8,000 adults took part in the survey conducted by ICM Research for the Gambling Commission. The survey results provide a useful snapshot of participation in remote gambling, which includes online gambling, in the country.
The survey includes statistics on all forms of remote gambling including personal computer, mobile phone and interactive television.
The survey results are available in a document called ‘Survey Data On Remote Gambling Participation.’ It can be viewed on the Gambling Commission’s website.
Key findings of the survey include:
- In the year to September 2007, 8.7 percent of those surveyed said they had taken part in at least one form of remote gambling (i.e. through a personal computer, mobile phone or interactive/digital television) in the previous month.
The figure of 8.7 percent is a rise of 1.3 percent on the calendar year of 2006 whereby 7.4 percent said they had participated in a form of remote gambling.
- Gamblers taking part in remote gambling are more likely to be male than female, and in the age range of 18 – 34.
- When you exclude the number of people who only play the National Lottery remotely the figure who participate in remote gambling is only 5.5 percent.
- 6.2 percent of the 8,000 people surveyed said they had participated in remote gambling on the National Lottery in the last month. This was either only or as well as other types of remote gambling.
- 6.7 percent of people surveyed said they gambled remotely using a computer, a laptop or handheld device. This compares with 2.7 percent who gambled remotely using a mobile phone and 2 percent gambled using interactive/digital TV.
The figures provided in the study series cover all forms of remote gambling. The survey is conducted once every quarter with the first survey published in February 2007. The most recent survey data covers the period from October 2006 to September 2007.
The 8,000 adults surveyed were asked if they had gambled through the Internet on a personal computer, laptop or handheld device; via WAP/Internet Text (SMS) on a mobile phone; and/or by interactive/digital TV. People who said they had gambled were then asked to indicate the type of remote gambling they had participated in (poker rooms, casino games, the National Lottery, sports betting). Gamblers were also asked to give their age.
The figures indicate that online gambling has continued to grow over the last year.
