At peak time we are averaging around 12,000 bets a minute compared with one tenth of that this time last year," said Mark Davies, director of communications at Betfair.com.
LONDON (Reuters) - Growing numbers of British gamblers are betting on soccer matches and other sports from the comfort of their desks or living rooms.
Online sites are thriving because of a new wave of punters who are computer literate, own credit cards and have a voracious appetite for betting on an array of sports.
"It is fair to say that online betting has created a new market and has made betting a more approachable pastime for those people who do not like the seedy betting shops," said analyst Andrew Lee at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein.
Online betting firms Sportingbet and Betfair.com have seen a sharp increase in their customer base.
Sportingbet saw a 19 percent rise in customers to 30,915 last quarter while the number of sports bets placed rose more than one million against the same period last year.
"We have a user base of 75,000 and we are approaching our third anniversary. At peak time we are averaging around 12,000 bets a minute compared with one tenth of that this time last year," said Mark Davies, director of communications at Betfair.com.
Traditionally British gamblers placed bets on horse racing in smoky licensed betting offices. But betting shops broadened their scope and allowed punters to place bets on the outcome of soccer matches.
With the advent of the internet, punters began to gamble online to avoid betting tax. But once this tax was abolished in 2001, those customers returned to the betting shop and a new group of punters began to fuel the online sites.
The internet gambling companies say they are winning these new customers through innovative alternatives and betting techniques.
Gambling on whether Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic nomination for the 2004 U.S. Presidential elections is one popular punt.
OFFICE WORKERS
Gamblers can even win money by choosing the correct aggregate number after adding the number of goals scored in a football match to the players' shirt numbers.
David Forrest, an economics lecturer at England's University of Salford said: "In 2001, 72 percent of British people had gambled in the previous year and 50 percent had gambled in the previous week."
Another style of gambling, spread betting, is also pulling in the internet punters. In spread betting, the punter bets on variations from an estimated result.
For example, a betting company estimates Australia's cricket team will score 250 runs in an innings. A punter buys the bet for 10 pounds a run. For every run that Australia score above 250 he wins 10 pounds and for every run that Australia fail to score up to 250 he loses 10 pounds.
The wins, and the losses, can be huge.
According to the Customs and Excise Annual Report 2001-2002, British gamblers spent more than 9.1 billion pounds betting via the internet, bookmakers or the telephone.
Analysts say this new market of online betters has been carved out of affluent office workers who are spending increasing amounts of their money and time trying their luck on the net.
"There is a new socio-economic group entering the market, As and Bs, the more affluent, now have an easier way in their time-constrained lives to bet -- on their (personal computers)," said Lee.
"You only have to look at the fact that 55 percent of people in the U.K. own credit cards."
Mark Davies, director of communications at Betfair.com, also agreed that people going into a betting shop were typically the less affluent Cs and Ds, whereas those who bet online were As and Bs, but there are exceptions to the rule.
"We have one user who is a farmer who spends his entire day on his tractor and then goes in and uses the internet for betting all evening," said Davies.
TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS
Bookmakers William Hill's media relations director Graham Sharp said stereotypes and averages were always misleading.
"Just because certain people bet on the internet this does not mean this is the only way they bet. Affluent people have always bet anyway and have always found a way of doing it.
"Newer gamblers who are more comfortable with the technology will choose to begin their betting experience on the internet because it takes away the embarrassment of walking into a betting shop for the first time and not quite understanding how it works," he said.
"Without a doubt, the internet has certainly made placing a first bet a lot easier for anyone."
Analysts and online betting companies say improvements in technology have indeed made betting easier. Punters are free to watch an unprecedented amount of sport and it is has become easier to bet due to credit cards, the internet and mobiles.
"Expansion in the coverage of live major sporting events has made betting something to be enjoyed and this has contributed to a reason why someone might like to have a little flutter based on the outcome of a game," Sharp said.
According to a survey by research firm Screen Digest and Dutch Bank ABN AMRO released last year, betting via the internet is set to grow to 1.4 billion pounds in 2010 from 533 million pounds in 2002.
"The lottery has made betting far more socially acceptable and people who started by having a bet in the lottery have thought 'I enjoyed that and I would like more chance of winning' so they put bets on the Cup Final or on Wimbledon or even the Oscars," Sharp said.
As one anonymous gambler said: "Online betting is so addictive, it's the thrill, it's at your fingertips, will you win or won't you?"
!
LONDON (Reuters) - Growing numbers of British gamblers are betting on soccer matches and other sports from the comfort of their desks or living rooms.
Online sites are thriving because of a new wave of punters who are computer literate, own credit cards and have a voracious appetite for betting on an array of sports.
"It is fair to say that online betting has created a new market and has made betting a more approachable pastime for those people who do not like the seedy betting shops," said analyst Andrew Lee at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein.
Online betting firms Sportingbet and Betfair.com have seen a sharp increase in their customer base.
Sportingbet saw a 19 percent rise in customers to 30,915 last quarter while the number of sports bets placed rose more than one million against the same period last year.
"We have a user base of 75,000 and we are approaching our third anniversary. At peak time we are averaging around 12,000 bets a minute compared with one tenth of that this time last year," said Mark Davies, director of communications at Betfair.com.
Traditionally British gamblers placed bets on horse racing in smoky licensed betting offices. But betting shops broadened their scope and allowed punters to place bets on the outcome of soccer matches.
With the advent of the internet, punters began to gamble online to avoid betting tax. But once this tax was abolished in 2001, those customers returned to the betting shop and a new group of punters began to fuel the online sites.
The internet gambling companies say they are winning these new customers through innovative alternatives and betting techniques.
Gambling on whether Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic nomination for the 2004 U.S. Presidential elections is one popular punt.
OFFICE WORKERS
Gamblers can even win money by choosing the correct aggregate number after adding the number of goals scored in a football match to the players' shirt numbers.
David Forrest, an economics lecturer at England's University of Salford said: "In 2001, 72 percent of British people had gambled in the previous year and 50 percent had gambled in the previous week."
Another style of gambling, spread betting, is also pulling in the internet punters. In spread betting, the punter bets on variations from an estimated result.
For example, a betting company estimates Australia's cricket team will score 250 runs in an innings. A punter buys the bet for 10 pounds a run. For every run that Australia score above 250 he wins 10 pounds and for every run that Australia fail to score up to 250 he loses 10 pounds.
The wins, and the losses, can be huge.
According to the Customs and Excise Annual Report 2001-2002, British gamblers spent more than 9.1 billion pounds betting via the internet, bookmakers or the telephone.
Analysts say this new market of online betters has been carved out of affluent office workers who are spending increasing amounts of their money and time trying their luck on the net.
"There is a new socio-economic group entering the market, As and Bs, the more affluent, now have an easier way in their time-constrained lives to bet -- on their (personal computers)," said Lee.
"You only have to look at the fact that 55 percent of people in the U.K. own credit cards."
Mark Davies, director of communications at Betfair.com, also agreed that people going into a betting shop were typically the less affluent Cs and Ds, whereas those who bet online were As and Bs, but there are exceptions to the rule.
"We have one user who is a farmer who spends his entire day on his tractor and then goes in and uses the internet for betting all evening," said Davies.
TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS
Bookmakers William Hill's media relations director Graham Sharp said stereotypes and averages were always misleading.
"Just because certain people bet on the internet this does not mean this is the only way they bet. Affluent people have always bet anyway and have always found a way of doing it.
"Newer gamblers who are more comfortable with the technology will choose to begin their betting experience on the internet because it takes away the embarrassment of walking into a betting shop for the first time and not quite understanding how it works," he said.
"Without a doubt, the internet has certainly made placing a first bet a lot easier for anyone."
Analysts and online betting companies say improvements in technology have indeed made betting easier. Punters are free to watch an unprecedented amount of sport and it is has become easier to bet due to credit cards, the internet and mobiles.
"Expansion in the coverage of live major sporting events has made betting something to be enjoyed and this has contributed to a reason why someone might like to have a little flutter based on the outcome of a game," Sharp said.
According to a survey by research firm Screen Digest and Dutch Bank ABN AMRO released last year, betting via the internet is set to grow to 1.4 billion pounds in 2010 from 533 million pounds in 2002.
"The lottery has made betting far more socially acceptable and people who started by having a bet in the lottery have thought 'I enjoyed that and I would like more chance of winning' so they put bets on the Cup Final or on Wimbledon or even the Oscars," Sharp said.
As one anonymous gambler said: "Online betting is so addictive, it's the thrill, it's at your fingertips, will you win or won't you?"
!
