"Studies Report That Speed of Connection and Convince Fuel Online Gambling Boom"

Not only is Internet gambling increasing in popularity all throughout Europe, but technical advances in broadband availability is fueling the trend

In February alone, as an example. Close to 14 million Europeans visited either a gambling or sweepstake Internet site. The two countries registering the highest numbers of Internet gamblers were with France and Sweden. In the south of Europe, although Internet gambling is starting to catch on, it still ranks as being for less popular than it is in their rest of Europe. For example, it is reported that in Spain and Italy a mere 10 percent of the population have visited a gambling or sweepstakes site.

Britain is another country where the online gambling fever is growing and stands as another case where the growing availability of broadband is again fueling that Internet gambling industry’s growth. Nielsen/NetRatings, the Internet research company, has reported that up to 3.2 million Brits visited a gambling site in February. This means a 45% increase over the number of gambling site visitors who visited such sites just one year earlier.

The Nielsen/NetRatings, service also reports that the phenomenal growth in the UK’s gambling industry has moreover been spurred by the increases in the range of gambling, betting, and online casino sites. Still the most popular gambling site continues to be the National Lottery. The National Lottery Site was accessed in the month of February, 2005 alone by over 1.3 million visitors. The results of the Nielsen/NetRatings survey of top Internet gambling websites accessed by UK gamblers follow:

1. The National Lottery
2. William Hill
3. Partypoker.com
4. Ladbrokes
5. Pacific Poker
6. Cyberslotz
7. The Gaming Club
8. Golden Palace Online Casino
9. Vernons

In a recent study carried out by European Internet analyst Gabrielle Prior, it was found that United Kingdom players like the speed and ease of betting online. Of those betting from the UK, it is reported that three quarters employ high-speed Internet connections. They also spend an average of 20 minutes online. Those players with slower connections will spend an average of 29 minutes online.