Online Gambling Habits Under The Microscope

Posted by Gambling News | Gambling Industry News | Monday 31 March 2014 12:32 pm

We don’t find it very surprising that online gambling habits are regularly placed under the microscope for industry scrutiny. Marketing methods have become more scientific over the years, in particular in the online space, where this industry is now a mainstream model for making money.

Mobile game sales, spending rates, hours spent online and so on, are all grist for the mill for surveyors when attempting to understand how to market to their chosen audience. New research in a report from the Online Gaming Market, 2014, sees that players in Europe spend more time playing, than gamblers on any other continent. The research includes social network platforms such as Facebook, as well as use of mobile devices like smart phones and tablets. Apparently nearly 20% of the entire population enjoys taking a gamble online.

It seems that experts in this industry find these numbers disproportionately surprising, however the facts remain in particular in the UK – consumers eagerly participate in playing online games. Gambling platforms have become a part of everyday life, and half of all UK tablet users make this channel their first choice. There is a definite predisposition for online gambling through mobile technology, which promises much growth for mobile gaming into the future.

Mobile in-game purchases as reported by specialists -Swrve– says that 0.15% of mobile gamblers generates 50% of monthly profits. This is the first Mobile Games Monetization Report Swrve has published, and it is hugely interesting to note that so much money is generated from a such a small number of spenders. But the point is that there are a whole bunch of active players that truly enjoy online, or rather, mobile gambling games.

The study was conducted across "tens of millions of players", the aim being to find precisely "where the money is made". It took a whole month to compile and what was also found to be rather interesting – was that very little data exists to show how consumers relate to“free-mium” games. There are many free online gambling models to take advantage of, and while many players do, there is still this small section of players in the market, generating a great deal of money.

Facts revealed indicate thatwomen tend to wager more, and the over 50 age group makes up a large proportion of the social online casino player index. The myth is also being dispelled that people over 50 arenot computer savvy. The second biggest player category is the 60 – 69 year-old age group.

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Bingo Budget Tax Cut – Is It Much Ado About Nothing?

Posted by Gambling News | Bingo News | Sunday 30 March 2014 11:14 am

It has been years that the UK bingo industry has been trying to get HMRCS to cut bingo tax. This is tax for clubs of the live variety, not necessarily the online kind. Now, apparently all Britain is celebrating because the Government has finally realised that this industry is in serious jeopardy. Bingo tax has been cut from 15 to 10%. Chancellor, George Osborne has finally been convinced to attempt to “protect jobs and protect communities”. During the last thirty years – ¾ of bingo halls have gone out of business, and 2000 jobs have been lost.

But like all taxation concessions, the Chancellor is still compelled to balance the budget, and has predictably given with the right hand, while taking away with the left. The bad news is that fixed odds betting terminals have to bear the burden of the concession for bingo. According to Osborne, these machines have "proliferated" during the last ten years. So, he has raised their tax to 25%. On the good side – and there is another – beer duty has also been cut, and Rank (Mecca Bingo)will be building three new bingo halls.

On the other side of the tax landscape – online gambling concerns that are situated in white listed areas, have not paid tax to the UK since the industry first got its start. It is realistically speaking unfair, that these businesses may offer services to a UK-facing audience, make money from these services, and not pay tax to the UK Treasury. This is all set to change, and taxes on remote gambling are about to kick off from December of this year (2014).

In the meantime Ireland has not been as quick off the mark as the British have, where the regulatory process for online gambling tax has not yet passed the committee stage. The Betting (Amendment) Bill 2012 has passed through the Dailhowever, but who knows how much longer the bill will take to be passed? This act provides a regulatory regime for online gaming operators, but has been gathering dust since 2011. Apparently the Ministry for Finance has been dragging their heels, and all the bill needs is to be signed.

While the gravy train ride is not quite over for operations such as online bingo, casino, poker, and sports betting operators, in the UK and Ireland, the net is certainly closing in. New tax benefits for the bingo crowd, could not as badly materially affect British operators in the online game. So, there is something for these operators to look forward to – being taxed is not all doom and gloom.

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