RGA: UK Online Gambling Has Found Its Level

The UK's online gaming industry remains in good health despite player numbers levelling out, an expert has said.

The gaming industry has no reason to worry about a report suggesting the number of people in the UK taking part in remote gambling has stopped growing, it has been claimed.

Statistics compiled by the Gambling Commission showed that 8.8 per cent of the adult population participated in some from of remote gambling during July.

That figure represents a rise of 1.6 per cent from 2006, but was identical to that recorded in 2007.

Brian Wright, business director of the Remote Gambling Association (RGA), insisted that the fact player numbers had remained static was a "good thing".

He explained that there had been a substantial growth in the number of people staking money via the internet in the past few years and that most adults who would enjoy online gambling were probably already regular players.

"It's inevitable that it would plateau out at some stage … There's people that will [gamble] and people that won't and in the UK it has probably found its level," Mr Wright said.

However, he added that new games might be needed to keep players interested in online gambling.