Bullet Business

The Remote Gambling Association (RGA) has projected a rosy picture for the mobile gambling industry.

According to Brian Wright, director of business at the RGA, gamers could soon be able to place a bet on their handsets as fast as they can on the Internet.

He reportedly said, "Mobile phones have always been the next big leap forward and if you look at the technology that has become available over a year or so, it's moving towards a situation where it's going to be fast enough to satisfy online betters."

Wright also thinks that mobile gambling could see more women placing bets as betting shops can sometimes be intimidating places to visit.

According to the Gambling Commission, over the year to September 2008, those participating in remote gambling remain more likely to be male than female, and are more likely to be aged 18 - 44.

As per the survey, 9.3 percent of the 8,000 adults surveyed said they had participated in at least one form of remote gambling (through a computer, mobile phone or interactive/digital TV) in the previous month. This compares with the 2007 figure of 8.8 percent and the 2006 figure of 7.2 percent. 90.5 percent of respondents said they had not participated in any form of remote gambling.

Remote gambling via a computer, laptop or handheld device was most popular (7.5 percent of all adult respondents), followed by gambling via mobile phone (2.7 percent) and interactive/digital TV (2.0 percent).