The increase in spending on online gambling: why?
Italians gamble; and every year they spend more and more on betting, especially online.
If, between 2011 and 2014, spending on online betting and gaming fluctuated between 725 and 749 million euros (source: osservatorio.net), in 2015 the figure rose to 821 million euros, and the following year it shot up well over a billion euros, an increase of 25%.
But how can such results be explained? It cannot be attributed to a single factor, but rather to a concatenation of measures and attention from the bodies responsible for managing gaming, to which must be added the increasing pervasiveness of tools that allow individuals to participate in what happens on the web.
On the one hand, therefore, the actions of the Government and AAMS (Customs and Monopolies Agency, the body responsible for managing and regulating the sector) must be considered, such as combating illegal gambling, updating regulations, and player protection mechanisms. On the other hand, the growing digital culture among Italians provides a further element of clarification of the phenomenon.
But these elements would not be sufficient if there were not, on the part of the operators in the sector (the bookmakers), a strong desire to increase the offer of products and services. Consider, for example, that Casino Games grew by 35%, sports betting by 31%, and other Casino games by 20%. The only category that continues to decline is Poker Cash (-13%).
What do Italians play online?
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But how is the billion euros spent online by Italians in 2016 divided?
To Casino Games, went 441 million euros, to Sports Betting, a good 350 million euros, to other games (such as Skill Games Tournament, Betting Exchange, Bingo, Prediction Contests) 97 million; the rest is divided between Poker Cash (73 million) and Tournament Poker (65 million).
The most interesting data, however, is certainly that concerning the modalities of play: more and more enthusiasts are using mobile devices to access bookmaker portals.
The share of the mobile channel (smartphones and tablets) compared to the total is 23% (in 2015 it was 20%). In terms of spending, the growth compared to the previous year is 50% (while desktop grows by 25%), reaching the figure of 233 million euros.
mobile: the choices of Italians
But what are the most practiced types of games on smartphones and tablets?
The greatest interest among Italians who play on the go is in Sports Betting: well over half ( 56% for over 130 million euros in spending) of account holders with AAMS licensed bookmakers, in fact, take advantage of the speed of placing bets, and the presence of “live” bets, which adapt well to the portable device.
Stable or in slight, but constant, decrease, participation in Skill Games (10% and 22 million euros), Casino Games (29% and approximately 67 million euros), Bingo (2% and 4 million euros) and other games (3% and 7 million euros), despite bookmakers increasing their offering with specific mobile services.
While the share of users betting from desktop has fallen by 14%, among those who do so from mobile, 16% use their tablet, while 84% use their smartphone. Among the latter, 2 out of 3 have downloaded the dedicated app, while the third uses the mobile version of the website.
These latest data confirm the trend observed in all areas of social, work, and recreational life towards increasing smartphone use, thanks precisely to its versatility: applications, in particular, such as those that allow you to play at the William Hill online Casino, have an immediacy of use that makes them preferable to websites.
At the same time, it must be said that technological innovations, such as HTML5 and the responsive” mode, mean that the number of users betting from mobile sites is increasing compared to previous years: 28% of the total share in 2015; 35% in 2016.
Pubblicato in Digital Tools, Mobile & App
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