Compiled by Vicky Nolan
Betting in Bangkok
Euro 2000 betting should exceed 50 billion baht (US$1,280,409,723) in Thailand, according to a gambling study from the Thailand Research Fund. The study, reported the Bangkok Post, also found that 83.1 percent of students are likely to gamble this year. (That's triple the amount bet on the previous year's championship.) Thanks to a decrease in betting minimums, which dropped from 1,000 baht per match to 100 baht per match, gambling has become much more widespread. In turn, illegal bookmaking operations
expanded, along with the introduction of underground Internet betting in Thailand, both of which helped spread betting accessibility.
Another study, the Assumption University-KSC Internet poll, found that 51.5 percent of 1627 students surveyed admitted to betting on football matches. Plus, 45 percent of respondents said that their friends had begun gambling on football this year. About 40 percent of the students want football gambling legalized, with another 30.4 percent opposing its legalization.
Betting in Britain
Nearly three-quarters of the British population, about 33 million adults, have gambled during the past year, according to the National Centre's British Gambling Prevalence Survey. The National Lottery Draw was the most popular gambling activity, with 65 percent of the population having bought a National Lottery ticket during the past year. In comparison, less than one percent of the British population had 'spread-betting' or had gambled via the Internet.
Britons are less likely to gamble than residents of other nations, according to the study. By comparison, nine in ten adults in Sweden and New Zealand are likely to gamble, followed by eight in ten Australian adults who gamble. Americans are the least likely to gamble, with only 63 percent of adults participating in gambling activities.
www.gamcare.org.uk
Chinese Internet Usage Breakdown
There are 10.45 million Internet users on mainland China, with another 1.85 million in Hong Kong, according to iamasia (Interactive Audience Measurement Asia). The largest proportion of Internet users is in Beijing, which accounts for 25 percent of total users. Workplace Internet usage accounts for 5 million, while 5.7 million hit the Internet from home. In Hong Kong, the breakdown shows 1.5 million go online at home, with 610,000 connected at work.
www.iamasia.com
Surfing with an Appliance
While Internet has penetrated deep into American society, only 2 percent of those users are getting online via a Web appliance. This figure is likely to experience dramatic growth by 2005 when 55 percent will access the Internet using a Web appliance, reports eTForecasts.
"This does not mean the end of PCs as Internet access devices, but an increasing share of Internet users will augment their online life with web appliances," explained Dr. Egil Juliussen, the author of the eTF report.
www.etforecasts.com
American Small Business and Computers
A study of the 7.5 million small businesses in America shows that 6.4 million (85.3 percent) have PCs, 4.3 million (57.3 percent) access the Internet, 1.4 million (28 percent) have a home page, and 0.9 million (12 percent) are actively engaged in e-commerce, reports IDC. Additionally, small businesses are likely to devote an increasing amount of their IT budget for Web expenses. During 1999, Web spending accounted for 9.1 percent of the companies' IT budget, which will increase to 28.6 percent in 2003.
www.idc.com
Who's Hot on the Web
Free play gaming sites saw huge increases in traffic among at-work audiences. Gamesville.com saw a 99.1 percent growth for May 29-June 4, compared to the previous week's audience size. During that same time period, EasyWinning.com increased by 51.2 percent and RadioStakes.com increased 45.1 percent.
www.nielsen-netratings.com