Iain Wilkie, a leisure, hospitality and gaming partner at Ernst & Young, said: “Online betting and gaming is convenient. Customers can place bets and get updates on their wins and losses from the comfort of their armchair or desk. It is the accessibility and convenience of the online betting and gaming proposition that gives it such huge potential. Markets that are currently untouched will become accessible for the first time.”
Ernst & Young has identified several customer market groups that will be essential for the success of the online betting and gaming businesses:
•Professional Gambler: This type of person would have been one of the earliest adopters of online gambling.
•Skilled Amateur Gambler: This type of gambler will not place too many bets but when he does he will invest heavily.
•Del Boy Gambler: someone who loves the thrill of gambling and who gambles regularly for relatively small amounts.
•Dot Cotton Gambler: the female gambler who barely knows how to fill out a betting slip and rarely visits the bookmaker. She represents the hundreds of millions of people who may bet once a year. “The Dot Cotton Gambler will be the main focus for those promoting online services,” says Ernst & Young.
Wilkie also believes that the UK is now in a great position to benefit from this new market following the scrapping of the nine percent betting duty over the weekend.
“The repeal of UK legislation effective from Saturday October 6 will, Ernst & Young believe, enable onshore bookmakers to compete on a level playing field with offshore competitors. There will no longer be any financial incentive for customers to use a non-UK site, and as onshore bookmakers are permitted to advertise (unlike their offshore rivals), the UK online betting market will grow….The UK betting industry is the world leader in fixed odds betting and because of the range of bets this can offer, will be a leading player in the online market.”
