Online Gambling Tipped To Survive In Recession

There will still be online gamblers in the credit crunch

While online gambling is not recession-proof it should avoid being severely hit by the economic downturn, it has been claimed.

The October 2008 Gambling Commission report Remote Gambling Participation showed 9.3 per cent of adults had placed a bet through a computer, mobile phone or interactive TV over the previous month.

Remote gamblers were more likely to be men than women, the report found, and were largely aged between 18 and 44.

According to Brian Wright, director of business at the Remote Gambling Association (RGA), the remote gambling industry is unlikely to be insulated from the credit crunch but he believes the nature of the activity will ensure it is in a good position to weather the storm.

"The majority of people gamble as a leisure pursuit, so it's something they do in addition to other activities, but they gamble only small stakes so it shouldn't affect the sector too adversely," he commented.

Almost one in two people in the UK (48 per cent) participated in a form of gambling other than the National Lottery in 2007, a Gambling Commission survey conducted last year suggests.