Online gambling in the US seems to be a taboo subject, with 95% of online adults claiming they have never spent money playing at an online casino, while 94% say the same about multiplayer poker and 97% about betting on sports online.
Despite this denial, eMarketer estimates that over $10 billion was spent on the internet last year, while data from Nielsen//NetRatings shows that 20 million US internet users visit gambling or sweepstake websites in a month.
The survey, from Harris Interactive, found that 94% of online US adults said they were not likely to play at an online casino in the next six months. Similarly, 92% said they were not likely to play online multi-player poker, and 96% were doubtful that they would bet on sports online.
Elsewhere, gambling on mobile phones looks set to surge in popularity, with Visiongain forecasting global revenues from mobile phone casino games to reach over $2.2 billion by 2010 (see Consumers Still Use Dial-Up).
According to eMarketer’s Mobile Gaming brief, world-wide gaming revenue reached $2.5 billion in 2005, with James Belcher, senior analyst and author of the report, saying the industry is “not a fad” (see Mobile Phone Gaming Continues To Grow In Popularity).
Recent figures from market intelligence firm, IDC, forecast revenue from sales of mobile games in the US to reach $1.5 billion in 2008, up from just $600 million in 2004.
Informa Telecoms and Media confirms this rising popularity, estimating total global revenues from games on mobile phones to reach $11.2 billion by 2010, increasing by a massive $8.6 billion from $2.6 billion this year (see Global Mobile Games Revenues To Hit $11.2 Billion By 2010).
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