Florida Exhibits High Proportion of Problem Gamblers
The University of Florida recently reported to the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling Conference that its first statewide gambling survey indicates a serious gambling problem within the state.
The survey shows Floridians to be twice as likely to develop gambling problems as people in other states and that the percentage of problem gamblers in the state, 5.2 percent, is double that of the rest of the country. In addition, a greater proportion of Florida residents are experiencing gambling problems than in any other state.
"Our research indicates that we have a serious problem in Florida, and without some type of intervention or an increase in awareness about our at-risk gamblers ... we will likely face a future epidemic of problem gambling in Florida," said Nathan A. Shapira, who led the study.
Southeastern Europe Slowly, But Surely, Adopting Internet
Research firm IDC recently released projections culled from investigating Internet use in southeastern European countries.
By the end of 2005, IDC predicts that 6.5 million people, or 18 percent of the total population in Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Slovenia, will be online--an increase of 10.5 percent. The leader of this pack is Slovenia, which already has 25 percent of its population online. Romania is the straggler with a mere 5 percent of the population using the Internet.
Revenues from online commerce are comparatively small at $30 million in 2001, but IDC is predicting this number will increase to $650 million by 2005.
European Investors Not Shy About Technology
After surveying venture capitalists in Europe, Ionic Advisers and the Miller Insurance Group found that venture capitalists aren't continuing the path of abandonment when it comes to investing in technology companies.
The report concluded that 88 percent of European venture capitalists are raising funds for new technology investments and nearly all the investors are keeping or increasing the proportion of high-tech investments in their portfolios.
A recovery in technology company valuations is expected during the next two years, with wireless technology, security technology and communications software companies as the prime areas in which to invest.
Single Transaction Amounts Increase for Online Purchases
A survey of 15,000 Internet users in 124 countries was completed by online payment company WorldPay and found an upward trend in how much online consumers are willing to spend in a single online transaction.
Of the Internet users polled, 40 percent indicated that in the last three months they've spent between $100 and $500 online and 24 percent spent between $50 and $100. More than half of the respondents indicated they thought they would spend more online this year and their total online spend would top $500 in a single transaction.
An interesting side note to the survey was that two-thirds of those polled said they were comfortable buying from international e-commerce sites and shipping overseas.
Japanese E-Commerce Thrives
Japan Today this week reported on figures from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry that show a big jump in e-commerce figures in spite of a recently lackluster economy.
The Ministry's numbers show an increase of 58.4 percent in the e-commerce market during 2001.
The consumer market was strongest in the services sector. The business e-commerce market showed the strongest increase in the IT and automotive sectors.
Fourth Quarter Strong for Online Sales in US
A new report released by the U.S. Department of Commerce indicates a significant fourth quarter increase in online sales from 2000 to 2001.
The report revealed a 13.1 percent increase in online sales in the last quarter of 2001 compared to the same time a year earlier. U.S. online retail sales totaled $10.1 billion during the last quarter of 2001, which amounted to a yearly total of $32.6 billion or about one percent of total retail sales for the year.
Despite numerous reports about the effects of the Sept. 11 attacks on retail sales, online retail sales managed to increase 34 percent in the last quarter from the third quarter of 2001.