Survey Shows British Remote Gambling Unchanged

13 August 2008

Findings from an annual survey by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission show the same number of people participating in remote gambling as the year before.

Results from the survey, which was conducted by interviewing 8,000 British adults, reveal that 8.8 percent of the population has used at least one form of remote gambling either on a computer, cell phone or through digital TV, from September 2007 to June 2008. The survey yielded the same number in 2007 and a smaller number -- 7.2 percent -- in 2006.

The survey, which is published quarterly, said those participating in remote gambling are more likely to be male than female, aged 18 to 44 years old. Computers and laptops turned out to be more popular at 6.9 percent than mobile phones (2.3 percent) and digital TV (2 percent).

According to survey results, more than 5 percent of respondents told researchers they had gambled remotely on the National Lottery in the previous month.