Online gambling advertising up in the UK

Market and Research’s recently released study “UK Online Gambling Intelligence Report” reveals that since 2007, online gambling advertising has increased by 1,386 percent.

The report says this is indicative of the continuing competitiveness within the gambling sector, detailing that sports betting dominates online gambling promotion, accounting for 45 percent of all search impression volume.

During 2012, the search impression volume from mobile devices grew 75 percent, with the sports betting sub-vertical having the largest share.

In terms of both revenue and search impression volume, horse racing betting is the largest segment within sportsbook and is led by William Hill plc.

Casino and poker is led by 888, and has been achieved with the implementation of an aggressive strategy across both organic and paid search. However, 888 faces strong competition from cross-vertical brands like Ladbrokes, as well as pure play specialists such as PokersStars.

Intercasino has seen a dramatic downturn in its organic performance and there is evidence to suggest that this may be partly due to the historical impact of a Google algorithm update.

Gala and Mecca are the only traditional land-based bingo operators within the top 10 of R and M’s aggregated click share index. Gala’s position is attributed to the fact that the group has solid organic coverage, while Mecca leverages PPC to maximise its exposure.

The report notes that 888 has always invested heavily in traditional organic and paid search. However, a recent agreement with Facebook to offer real money gambling is an aggressive move by 888 as the internet gambling group looks to capitalise on the growth of social media.

Paddy Power has developed a close integration between its often controversial TV advertising and social media platforms by deploying a content strategy that communicates with great effect a maverick brand proposition that is entertaining, fun and humorous.

The report contains a slew of detailed information that includes:

* A who’s who in online gambling.

* In-depth market analysis covering January 2012 to December 2012.

* Over 100 individual pieces of key insights.

* Over 100 individual pieces of statistical interpretation.

* Analysis of the top 100 brands across the top 50 keywords.

* An interpretation of the top brands search and social media strategies.

* Assessment of market leaders

Full details of the report can be found at http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/c2gc33/uk_online