Gambling News

"The French Out Bet the British in Online Gambling"

The French are bigger gamblers than the British!

Internet gambling sites give the French the freedom to gamble how they please. Without the internet this would not be so. Now that the facts and figures are all in, we can see that the French spend more time playing on Internet gambling sites than their British counterparts do.

According to February figures from Nielsen/NetRatings, over 22% of those online in France spent over an hour betting. This is about three times higher than the average UK online gambler. The French also have twice as many sessions as do UK online gamblers.

Figures for Britain show that about 14% of its population access online gambling sites. This is a 45% increase from the previous year, even though it is not as large as the percentage of the French population who play.

Internet gambling allows the French to bypass state controlled betting (Pari Mutuel Urbain or PMU) and this is the main factors propelling the popularity of Internet gambling in France. Betting on horse races, lotto and the National Lottery are all state controlled in France and casinos are only allowed in certain towns with special status.

Commentators worldwide are arguing that the reason for the upsurge in online gambling activity is due to the broadband connections. This may be the primary force behind the Internet gambling rage, and while it is clearly a significant contributing factor, it is not the only cause.

The United Kingdom also has widespread use of broadband, with approximately 75% of online gamblers logged on using a high-speed link. If the trend continues, the percentage of the UK population playing at online gambling sites will soon surpass the percentage of U.S. players. Currently, in the U.S., there are approximately 20 million people placing wagers on Internet gambling sites. In Europe, that number is 14 million.

If you look only at France, it would be reasonable to come to this conclusion since roughly 85% of those using the Internet have broadband, but in Sweden, a nation where online gambling is also extremely popular, only 56% of Internet gamblers log onto a high-speed link.

Back to Online Gambling News Home