Statistics recently released by the UK Gambling Commission have shown that remote gambling is on the increase as more brands take advantage of new technology. The UK regulator reported a small increase of nearly 0.1 percent in the number of people taking part in the National Lottery and online bingo. While this might seem a small increase, given the economic difficulties in the UK which is seeing most industries see declines and the fact that 4.5 million more people than last year access the internet by their smart phone the rise is likely to increase for many years to come. However it is not all godd news for operators.

Gambling in general is on the rise across the nation, as the Commission’s research showed that 56.7 per cent of adult respondents admitted to gambling in the month prior to the poll. This is put into perspective when you compare it to the 55.2 per cent that gave the same response in 2009 and the 55.5 per cent in 2010. Bingo cards comprised 3.4 per cent of those forms of gambling.

With Tablet PCs and Smart Phones being amongst the most expected purchases this Christmas new technology is certainly set to aid the online gambling industry further.

However plans to change the legislation and taxes of the industry are likely to put a dampener on growth within online gambling. The Minister of Tourism and Heritage, John Penrose, announced the proposal earlier this year and the government have been quick to initiate consultations with both land based and remote gambling operators.

Penrose commented: “The current system for regulating remote gambling doesn’t work. Overseas operators get an unfair advantage over UK based companies, and British consumers who gamble online may have little or no protection depending on where the operator they deal with happens to be based.

“So our new proposals are an important step to help address concerns about problem gambling and to plug a regulatory gap, ensuring a much more consistent and higher level of protection for those people in the UK who gamble online.

“We will create a level playing field, so all overseas operators will be subject to the same standards and requirements as those based in Britain, as well as being required to inform the Gambling Commission about suspicious betting patterns to help fight illegal activity and corruption in betting.”

Industry experts are expecting some changes to take effect from this time next year and expect to see as many as 50 percent of the current online bingo operators ceasing their operations within 24 months.