College Students Like to Gamble
A large portion of college students admit to having gambled at least once during the past year, reports the Sun Herald in Biloxi, Mississippi. A study by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) questioned students from seven college campuses. They found that at least 15 percent of the students questioned have gambled on roulette or blackjack in the past year. Another 28 percent admitted to trying slot machines or video poker games.
"Roughly 90 percent of students say they have done some type of betting for money," said Ken Winter, a psychiatrist with the University of Minnesota and one of the survey's creators.
Only 2 percent of the students said they had gambled online, much less than what he had expected. "It's useful to measure it now and see if it changes," Winter added.
As for whether these students will turn into problem gamblers, Winter noted that somewhere between 3 and 5 percent of respondents showed some signs of "risky" behavior that could lead to later problems.
After reviewing the study's findings, the NASPA says that it will recommend that college staffs be trained to deal with students who display risky behavior in an attempt to ward off further problems.
Interactive Entertainment Delivers the Money
Gambling companies are benefiting tremendously from new technologies, say researchers at Schema, a European communications consultancy. The firm has released new research, "Interactive Entertainment: Delivering Revenues in the Broadband Era," which shows that gambling is becoming a more "socially
acceptable activity." The study also reports that Europe's interactive entertainment market is valued at US$38 million. One benefit of these new technologies is that they are enabling gambling companies to
reach new markets, such as women and other non-traditional gamblers.
Schema researchers predict that the Western European I-gaming market will be worth US$16 billion by 2005. Part of this can be attributed to the fact that European consumers are expected to spend roughly 8 percent of their disposable income on various entertainments, valued at $650 billion, of which $38 billion will be plunked on interactive entertainment services.
It's suggested that the entertainment will be a key driver behind the adoption of the high-speed mobile data market, especially as 2.5 and 3G network services make new mobile applications possible.
The research for Schema's study was conducted during April and June 2001. One facet of the Schema's research included interviews with executives from more than 70 communications, media and entertainment companies.
The study also includes a survey of more than 6,000 European consumers, who were questioned about their current use of entertainment applications and how frequently they used Internet services.
The two-volume study costs £5,000. Further information about ordering the study can be found online at www.schema.co.uk.
The Music Revolution that Wasn't
Although musicians decried the music-swapping site for detracting from sale of their music, it turns out that Napster may have actually boosted those sales. A recent report from SoundScan says that album/CD sales have dropped nearly 3 percent since Napster's music swapping services were severely limited. During the peak of Napster's usage, album sales were worth about $354.9 million, which has since dropped to $344.8 million.
Musicians and record companies complained that customers who used the free swapping service would stop buying their albums. Now that they've won the legal battle against the Internet firm, the recording industry may be left in the cold. Based upon music sales, it appears that consumers were sampling music before splurging entire albums.
Latin America Needs New Services
A Yankee Group study, "Latin America Wireless Data Series, Part - 1 Laying the Groundwork for Mobile Wireless Data," suggests that increasing competition in Latin America's mobile market, along with the growing popularity of mobile services used by a large prepaid client base, are forcing the average per-user revenues to drop. This, in turn, is pushing operators to seek alternative ways to increase customers' usage of services and perception of value.
One way this can be accomplished, Yankee researchers say, is through the use of new services. The success of this, however, will depend largely on how well operators create and manage their relationship with network providers, service enablers and the applications and content providers.
"In order for Latin American operators to increase consumer mobile data usage, it is fundamental for clients to perceive the value of purchasing mobile data services," said Luis Monoru Shibata, an analyst with Yankee's wireless/mobile Latin America research and consulting practice.
Shibata added, "This will be possible only if the operators understand their clients' needs and offer customized content through user-friendly applications. To build a portfolio that will attend to the variety of
client needs, operators will have to identify their client behavior profiles with data mining tools as well as manage an increasing number of suppliers with different solutions."
More Political Ads Coming
While most Americans are still suffering from election burnout following last year's presidential debacle at the booths, one political scientist is warning that people need to get ready for an onslaught of new political advertisements. During the past three months political campaigns and special interest groups have spent more than $79 million. Going back to the beginning of the year, that figure surpasses $105 million.
While politicians seeking election or reelection account for much of the advertising, special interest groups and corporation are pouring the money out for television ads seeking to affect pending legislation in
Congress or influence public opinion. The biotech industry, for example, has already spent nearly $12 million; the abortion debate has seen almost $10 million, and the plastics industry has spent close to $8 million on advertising.