UK gambling revenues surpassed the ?2billion mark last year, with the UK seen as something of a trendsetter which the rest of Europe and potentially the wider world will follow. The UK is a big player in the gambling business, with many of the big names being UK industries.

The UK Gambling Commission is the regulatory body which ensures standards and good practice, and their voice is heard throughout Europe; particularly after the meteoric rise of the online casino UK and sports betting markets.

Whereas gambling and the idea of ?the bookmaker? used to be associated with horse racing and little else, a demand in UK gambling has brought in a variety of other markets. Sports betting, and in particular football, has grown exponentially over the last year or so, along with markets like the online casino, and ?in play? betting. Football betting seems to have really captured the UK?s imagination.

It is the national sport and obviously one in which the punter feels that they may be able to get an advantage on the bookmaker, with their hard earned specialist knowledge of their own team. The football betting market grew by just under 70% for 2011-12. The online casino and games like bingo have also enjoyed huge growth figures.

The online casino has seen big ad campaigns across the TV networks and is only second to sports betting in revenue capture. There could be numerous reasons for the huge injections of revenue to the UK economy.

One could be the big ad campaigns, another could be our love for sport, but most obvious might be the rise in mobile internet capable devices such as smart phones, laptops, and tablets. The net is at our mercy every hour of every day now, and the worlds of internet gambling and mobile internet seem like very natural bed fellows.