Search data – Sport sites
As rain, inevitably, bounces back into Wimbledon, we return to take a look at sport online. The BBC Sport website continues to lead the pack, with a 2.1% rise on visitor share compared with the same period in 2006. With no Football World Cup this year, FIFA drops off the radar altogether, while Betfair moves up a place to third, with 2.18% share of visitors. Nonetheless football is by no means on the bench, with Sky Sports Football ranking fourth and The Reds’ official site Liverpoolfc.tv rising four places this year.
Gambling online remains a popular endeavour, with most users searching for bets on general sport, according to search agency Latitude. Interestingly, while last month was the May Festival at Chester and punters were gearing up for this month’s Ascot meet, “betting horse racing” experienced an 85% drop in the number of searches while “horse racing UK” plummeted 79.17% compared with the same time last year.
However, with Screen Digest forecasting that UK consumer spend on online gambling will increase from £660m in 2005 to £1.6bn in 2010, there seems no sign that the UK is losing its taste for a flutter. This year the rankings of bookmakers was no foregone conclusion, with pure play brands dominating the race. William Hill slips two places being the third most popular online bookmakers this year, according to figures from Casinocity. No doubt these sites will see greater activity as Roger Federer courts another success at Wimbledon and Brits bet on whether Henman is in for another early exit.
