The amount of online

The amount of online bingo, casino, poker and lottery players in the U.K. has increased by 40 percent in the 12 months from July of 2009 to 2010, according to a new report by Nielsen research. That’s 3.2 million new players to online gambling this year, a larger number than that of those who used social networking sites like Facebook (which only reached 2.2 million).

The research said that almost 50% of all users earn over £30,000 and close to 46 percent of total users were female , therefore quashing the stereotype that betting is for the poor and male. The report suggests that by using girly colour schemes and features like horoscopes, these poker and bingo sites were attracting the female demographic more than they had before.

The amount of young

The amount of young people interested in bingo has also grown . “The over-65s and those on lower household incomes have in the past been serious users of gambling sites, but in the face of the recession this profile is ever-changing,” said Neil Beston of Nielsen.

“While the extraordinary growth in gambling sites over the last two years has been driven by men and women of all ages, it appears to be driven particularly by middle-aged men, the well-educated and high-earning households.”

Interest in online bingo doesn’t seem to be waning either. With more sites launched nearly every week, bingo players have a lot more games to choose from and many more ways to win. Often, bingo sites will offer promotions to getmembers to take part — up to hundreds of bingo games and even some cash to spend.

Also, much like with Facebook, word continues to spread about the fun and attraction of online bingo. As more people find out about new bingo games and join virtual bingo halls, they’ll keep returning, while sending others to these sites with the hopes of winning multi-thousand pound jackpots.

Best