Survey: Internet Gambling on the Rise in the UK

Surveys carried out in the year to June 2007 indicated that 8.6% of adults had taken part in at least one form of remote gambling during the previous month, up from the 7.4% seen in polls for the 2006 calendar year.

Experts said the increase could mean that new groups are at risk of addiction due to the broadening accessibility of different gambling forms. The latest statistics, compiled from the Gambling Commission's quarterly surveys, showed that taking a punt on the national lottery remains the most popular form of remote gambling, followed by online poker.

Research found that in the four quarters to June, 6.7% of adults admitted to gambling via a computer, laptop or handheld advice over the previous month.The proportion is up from the 5.2% recorded in last year's surveys.

Placing a bet through a mobile phone is also on the rise, with almost 3% of adults using their handset as a gambling tool at least once in the month before the surveys in the year to June. Gambling via interactive or digital TV saw a slight increase during the period, up from 1.7% to 1.8%. The Gambling Commission said remote gamblers are more likely to be male and between the ages of 18 and 34.

Addiction experts said that the advent of internet gambling had taken away some of the stigma of walking into a bookies to place a bet, and as such could encourage different people into gambling, notably woman and younger people.

Comments