Women all a-flutter at online gambling

THEY rarely set foot inside a betting shop, but women have taken to online betting and casinos in their tens of thousands, according to new research.

While women make up just 5 per cent of customers in traditional betting establishments, 40 per cent of those choosing to get their gambling fix online are women.

According to published psychological research, men and women gamble for very different reasons. Men fall in love with the "action" and then chase their losses, but many women take a different route.

While women also enjoy the "action" and chase losses, their initial motivation is often escape - escape from memories of an unhappy childhood, escape from troubled husbands and escape from loneliness.

Henry Spurway, the owner of Easibet.net, said that women have always enjoyed a bet but have felt uneasy about going into a bookmaker’s.

Mr Spurway said: "Women may go into betting shops to have a bet on the Grand National or the Derby, but any other time of the year they feel awkward.

"Women have always enjoyed a bet. In casinos there are as many women as men - this is an extremely lucrative market. Within the next five to ten years it will really take off."

A spokesman for William Hill said: "It is no secret that the percentage of bets we take online from women is bigger than the percentage of bets we take in betting shops from women.

"The prime reason why anyone would want to bet online is convenience, because you can bet ‘twenty-four seven’ on whatever you want."

He added: "There are also a large number of clients abroad. We have people betting in 194 different countries in the world, and the vast majority cannot bet in any other way as there are no betting shops in the majority of countries in the world."

Yesterday’s research also found that Britons make up 80 per cent of all online gamblers in Europe, with those aged 18 to 29 more likely to use the internet to gamble than any other age group. This age group accounts for 14 per cent of the 3,960,000 home internet users who admit to using the net for betting.

Jon Miller, a director at Uswitch.com communications, which conducted the research, said: "As broadband services improve and bring speed, convenience and instant access to consumers, internet users can access gambling and gaming websites 24 hours a day."

Despite concerns about the social risks of people having easier access to the casino environment, the Gambling Bill - scheduled to go through this year - will seek to introduce tough regulatory rules for online gambling, to prevent the misuse of gambling websites.