Boom in Online Gambling

Despite a steady decline in gambling in recent years, ORC's annual GamblerTrack study reveals that 60% of the UK population still participates in gambling. Online gambling is on the rise, increasing by 46% last year, while traditional methods are declining.

Online gambling remains a relatively small sector, but it is now a competitive business and deregulation is likely to encourage even faster growth. Traditional betting - via telephone, in shops, casinos and on-course - saw a sharp decline in 2004, continuing the trend of the last few years. Since 1996, the number of adult gamblers has decreased from 37.5 million to 28 million.

The study shows that the vast majority - 95% - of those who gamble take part in the National Lottery, which is played by more than half of all UK adults. The GamblerTrack findings suggest the decline in lottery participation is now levelling off, with more respondents starting to play the lottery than stopping.

GamblerTrack is based on interviews with 4,000 adults about all forms of gambling - including the National Lottery, bingo, online gambling, and the football pools. The data, which was last collected in November last year, is used by Camelot, Gala Group, Rank Leisure and the National Lottery Commission.

The company's web site is at www.orc.co.uk .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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