UK Online Gamblers Soars By An Incredible 40%

A study released by Nielsen Media Research has revealed an incredible 40% increase in the number of UK online gamblers over a twelve month period.
The UK has been at the forefront of the online gaming industry for some time now and the huge increase in online players mean than an additional 3.2 million people  have joined the ranks of those already wagering online in the UK.
At the top of fastest-growing online companies list was lottery operator Camelot, which saw its unique visitors soar by 88% from 4.4m in July 2009 to 9.4m in July 2010.
In eighth place was PartyGaming, whose poker offering PartyPoker attracted an additional  870,000 visitors last year, representing a 174% rise in customers. PartyCasino was also up by 186% or an extra 1.2m players.
Commenting on the impressive rise in the number of UK online poker players, Gaming Analyst Steve Schwartz said:
“Online poker sites have experienced a huge increase in customers over the past decade. Playing poker on the Internet has become even more popular than land-based poker games held at casinos throughout the world. It has become somewhat of a phenomenon.”
According to the Nielsen study, at the heart of and driving the surge in online gamblers were middle-aged men, despite 46% of the UK’s online gamblers being women. Another interesting point to come out of the study was that half of online gamblers were in jobs that payed around £30,000 a year.
Summing up their findings, communications director at Nielsen, Neil Beston commented:
“While the phenomenal growth in gambling sites over the last two years has been driven by men and women of all ages, it appears to be powered particularly by middle-aged men, the well-educated and high-earning households.”
Although the numbers provide good news for those in the gaming industry, the report has also attracted the attention of anti-gambling groups who are concerned by the escalating figures and the ease at which people are now able to gamble online.