Online Poker is addictive to Brits

Nielsen/NetRatings, a leading provider of Internet Research, has recently published ‘Applications Index’ for the first time. This is a ranking of the most popular, the most addictive (time spent), and the stickiest (frequency) Internet applications.

Results revealed that top of the most addictive applications (as measured by time spent) was POKER software. Media players and file sharing applications also ranked high.
The results also show that 25.3 million Britons used an Internet application in November 2006, this equating to 83% of the active UK Internet population.

The ‘stickiest’ application (as measured by sessions per month) saw Yahoo! Widgets come out tops.

Alex Burmaster, a European Internet Analyst at Nielsen/NetRatings said; “As we all know, the increase in bandwidth has had a profound impact on our ability to use the Internet as an entertainment centre and communication resource. Watching videos, downloading, and streaming audio online have become much smoother experiences since the broadband revolution and applications are, obviously, a key beneficiary of this”.

“However, one could argue it is poker that has most effectively harnessed the ‘always on’ nature of broadband whilst, simultaneously, providing more ammunition for those who campaign against gambling due to its addictive nature”.