High-tech gambling 'set to explode'

High-tech gambling via TV and the Internet is set to explode over the next few years, a report suggested today.

Market analysts Datamonitor said more than 313,000 British gamblers already log on to betting sites, often saving them a journey to the bookmakers.

The market is currently worth £780m a year.

The Internet is the most popular high-tech way of placing bets, with 313,000 punters, compared with just 46,000 placing bets on Internet-compatible TVs.

Datamonitor said that was about to change.

It predicted that 1.4 million armchair gamblers would be placing wagers worth £2.8bn a year by 2005 on interactive televisions, compared with 885,000 Internet punters generating £1.6bn.

The prediction immediately drew concerns from anti-gambling groups.

A spokesman for Gamblers’ Anonymous said: ‘‘It is another nail in the coffin for common sense and we will, as always, be left to pick up the pieces.

‘‘We are already a nation of gamblers, with many people’s lives falling apart around them due to gambling.

‘‘A surge in gambling on the Internet and via TV will only make the situation worse.’’

Datamonitor said its predicted upturn in the market was partly because established bookmakers had now set up their own Internet sites, adding

''credibility'' to the market.

It said: ‘‘Gambling will soon be reaching out to a massive audience and into an environment - the living room - ideally suited for entertainment purposes.

‘‘The advent of interactive television means that the gambling industry now has the potential to target a very attractive audience - the armchair sport fans.

‘‘Sports betting, followed by lotteries, will be the most popular major form of gambling on interactive television.’’