"Annus Horribilis" in 2006 for Mobile Gambling"

The value of bets placed through the mobile channel is forecast to top US$16 billion globally by 2011, despite a poor year for industry development in 2006, according to Juniper Research in its latest assessment of the global market for mobile gambling services.

Author, Bruce Gibson commented: "The tightening of the legal barriers to online and mobile gambling in the USA in 2006 have had an impact throughout the industry, stifling the growth of the young and fragile mobile channel, as gambling industry brands reassess their market and channel strategies. A number of the leisure brands that we saw beginning to focus on the mobile channel early in 2006 have changed their priorities in the light of industry developments in the second half of the year. There is now a lot of emphasis in developing core business in potentially lucrative Asian markets. However we are still convinced that mobile's time will come. The case for gambling using mobile data services remains compelling and the Asian market will be in the forefront."

Juniper Research predicts that the global market for all forms of mobile gambling (casinos, lotteries and sports betting) will grow from $1.35 billion in 2006 to $16.6 billion by 2011 in terms of gross value of bets placed, with sports betting and lotteries the largest product sectors.

The UK has one of the most supportive environments in the world for online and mobile gambling and currently the European region provides the largest mobile gambling market in the world, with an estimated US$665 million in bets placed in 2006.

However, it is the Asia Pacific market that is expected to show the fastest growth through to 2011, rapidly overtaking the European market. The Asian market is forecast to grow from $647 million in 2006 to over $6.7 billion in 2011."

Posted to the site on 7th March 2007