<TABLE height=291 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=10 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top>[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]93% of UK households wager online [/font]</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top>[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Ninety three percent of British residents with an internet connection have gambled online, wagering almost US$3bn a year, according to a new survey. [/font]</TD></TR><TR><TD height=17>[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]And almost half the 2000 people surveyed said they had taken up online gambling in the last six months.
Around 10% of those who gamble online said it was now their main pastime, with 5% buying a laptop specifically to bet online.
The survey, conducted by financial website Virgin Money, found most punters staked around £10 to £20 per week.
Unsurprisingly sports betting was the most favoured betting activity for UK men, with 40% visiting a sportsbook daily and betting at least once a week.
“There’s no doubt online gambling and betting has become incredibly popular across the country – and these figures prove it," a Virgin Money spokesman said.
The survey comes just a week after the new UK regulator, the Gambling Commission, came into effect.
The UK is due to start issuing egaming licences in early 2007, with applications expected to be taken from late 2006.
“The Commission is currently working on the licence conditions and codes of practice which will be relevant to the remote gambling sector, [and] we will be consulting on drafts of these conditions and codes early next year,” Peter Dean, gambling commission chairman, said.
http://www.egrmagazine.com/cgi-bin/articles.pl?section=3&id=962&action=display[/font]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Around 10% of those who gamble online said it was now their main pastime, with 5% buying a laptop specifically to bet online.
The survey, conducted by financial website Virgin Money, found most punters staked around £10 to £20 per week.
Unsurprisingly sports betting was the most favoured betting activity for UK men, with 40% visiting a sportsbook daily and betting at least once a week.
“There’s no doubt online gambling and betting has become incredibly popular across the country – and these figures prove it," a Virgin Money spokesman said.
The survey comes just a week after the new UK regulator, the Gambling Commission, came into effect.
The UK is due to start issuing egaming licences in early 2007, with applications expected to be taken from late 2006.
“The Commission is currently working on the licence conditions and codes of practice which will be relevant to the remote gambling sector, [and] we will be consulting on drafts of these conditions and codes early next year,” Peter Dean, gambling commission chairman, said.
http://www.egrmagazine.com/cgi-bin/articles.pl?section=3&id=962&action=display[/font]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>