ACNielsen recently released a study that indicates that online gambling has increased by 40% in the past twelve months in the UK. Both online poker play and online casino gambling saw substantial increases over the last year.

Online gambling sites over the last year saw an additional 3.2 million British customers betting at their sites. Online poker sites also welcomed increasing numbers of British players. Party Poker saw an increase of 174% which translated to an additional 870,000 players at its site. Party Casino welcomed an increase of 360% of their player base over the last year.

Interestingly, online gambling in the UK is gaining popularity at a faster rate than online social networking sites such as Facebook. While online gambling sites saw an increase of 3.2 million customers, online social media sites saw an increase of 2.2 million people.

Online gambling is the hobby that is most rapidly on the rise in the UK. Neil Beston, communications director at Nielsen stated: “Online gambling has always been extremely popular among people older than 65 and in lower class society. Nevertheless, that profile is changing due to the economic downturn.”

In fact, the report found that close to 50% of online gamblers earn more than €36,092. 46% of all online gamblers are female players which would explain the fact that the majority of online gaming sites offer female-friendly features.

Those that are opposed to online gambling have expressed concern over the figures released by Nielsen, as they indicate that these sites are too easily accessible. Adrian Scarfe from GamCare commented: “Online casinos are 24/7 open and people can gamble at home. Young players and female gamblers are considered as the weak segments due to their lack of risk aversion. Additionally, people can gamble online while they are drunk without any control.”