Australians Increase Spending on Gambling
Figures released last week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on the 2000-2001 financial year show another rise in gambling revenues and increased per capita spending on gambling activities.
A 21 percent increase in average yearly spending by Australians --to AU$944 --was recorded between the 1997-1998 and 2000-2001 fiscal years. Slot machines--commonly referred to as "pokies"--saw their revenues increase 39 percent during the same period.
Residents of New South Wales and Victoria, where pokies are often just a kilometer or two away, far outpaced many of their neighbors in annual average gambling spending with AU$1154 and AU$1144 per adult, respectively. In Western Australia, where pokies are only allowed in casinos, residents spent AU$427 per adult.
Pokies and other gaming machines accounted for AU$8.7 billion of the total AU$13.8 billion spent on gambling last year. Gamblers spent AU$1.7 billion at TAB outlets, AU$1.5 billion at casino table games and AU$1.3 billion on lotteries.
Tribal Casinos Increase Standard of Living
A study subsidized by the First American Education Project--a nonprofit group that promotes tribal interests in the United States--shows that tribes that either operate casinos or lease gambling rights to other tribes have seen increases in their overall standard of living.
While the data varied from tribe to tribe in Washington state, where the study was conducted, living conditions on the reservations improved more than those of surrounding communities. For example, the median household income on the Muckleshoot reservation increased 38 percent to US$40,000 and the employment rate held at 60 percent while the county in which the reservation is located saw a slight decrease in employment rate. The Nisqually reservation in Thurston County increased its employment rate 11 percent, while the remainder of the county only had a two percent increase.
Art George, president of the Washington Indian Gaming Association and chairman of the Nooksack tribe said, "This report shows that these investments have made a big difference, especially in rural areas where many of our tribes and their fellow community members face tremendous economic challenges."
Wireless Gaming Big Business in Asia-Pacific
Datamonitor released figures this week that show wireless gaming is a market ripe with possibilities, especially in the Asia-Pacific and European regions.
The group's research indicates that 87 percent of mobile gaming revenues come from the Asia-Pacific region, with Japan accounting for the largest wireless gaming population of any single country. Japan's dominance in this industry is largely due to NTT DoCoMo and its 2.5G network that offers Internet functions.
Europe is on the radar and building momentum, according to Datamonitor's figures. Swedes account for 36 percent of Europe's 57 million wireless gamers and the United Kingdom accounts for a little more than a quarter of it.
As Europe expands and develops their own 2.5G and 3G network services, Datamonitor predicts wireless gaming to grow rapidly. They predict the global wireless market to reach US$17.5 billion in revenues by 2006 and the population of wireless gamers to hit 500 million - from the 157 million today - by the same year.
SMS Ads Welcomed by Irish
According to Amarach Consulting's Consumer TrendWatch report, many Irish SMS (short messaging service) users are keen to receive ads that are relevant to their lives.
SMS use is popular in Ireland, with 70 percent of the Irish population having a mobile phone and sending an average of 31 SMS messages a week. But what may be surprising is that about half of those mobile phone users are interested in receiving commercial text messages from advertisers.
The advertising that garnered the most interest was that concerning event tickets - 24 percent of respondents indicated an interest in those types of ads. Twenty-two percent of users said they would be interested in holiday promotional messages and 19 percent desired information regarding travel. Another 18 percent would like to receive ads promoting contests.
Respondents that weren't agreeable to advertorial SMS messages were generally those in the older age bracket and those that were more infrequent SMS users.
Alternatives to the Landline Crimp Long Distance Revenues
A recent study by J.D. Power and Associates shows that alternatives to landline long distance phone calls in the U.S. are enjoying ever-increasing popularity.
According to the report, in 2001, 57 percent of respondents said they use an alternative method to phoning long distance such as email, instant messaging, wireless long distance calling and Internet-based calling. In 2000, that number was at only 50 percent.
"Despite rate decreases by long distance providers, consumers believe that alternatives such as e-mail and wireless services cost less and are more convenient to use than wireline services," said Steve Kirkeby, senior director of telecommunications services for J.D. Power and Associates. "This continuing trend poses the single largest threat to conventional long distance calling."
Wireless long distance calling showed the greatest increase of the alternatives, registering a 38 percent increase in displacing landline long distance calls.