More gamblers are using smartphones

According to the latest Ofcom Communications Market Report, 40 percent of adults in the UK now own a smartphone, up 13 percent from the 27 percent who had the devices at the same time last year.

The rise in usage is good news for the mobile gambling sector, which has been delivering remarkable revenues – especially in sports betting which accounts for over 76 percent of all mobile wagering – to most of the large online gambling groups in recent times (see previous InfoPowa business reports).

Online gambling consultants, H2 Capital calculate that the mobile market reached the Euro 2.2 billion mark in 2011, and estimates that it could top Euro 5.4 billion in just three years’ time, achieving annual growth rates in the region of 19.3 percent.

Mobile casino gambling is making inroads into the overall interactive casino market, too. H2 research shows that during the final quarter of 2010, mobile casinos represented 9.8 percent of the total interactive casino market and 0.6 percent of the total global casino market.

The consulting firm now predicts that the share of mobile casinos will rise 3 percent to 12.9 percent in the interactive casino market and to 0.9 percent in the total global casino market next year.

In the United States smartphone ownership has climbed to 45 percent of the adult population, and in  Spain, Germany, France and Italy the number of adults owning these entertaining and versatile devices has increased by 8 percent, with 44 percent of adults resident in the European Union now using smartphones.

Looking ahead, the dominance of mobile sports betting will likely be balanced by better mobile casino numbers, with H2 estimating that sports betting will take up 50 percent of the mobile gambling market as mobile casino gambling increases its share to around 40 percent.