The business model of gaming and monetised games playing is shifting and the trends accelerating. Traditional gaming devices are being dropped in favour of multipurpose devices, as UK consumers increasingly turn to casual and mobile gaming, new research from Ofcom has revealed.

Results from the survey suggest that the number of people who played online games on consoles and TV dropped from 27% to 25% between 2009 and 2012. Similarly, usage of handheld players also fell over the period.

Meanwhile, the use of multipurpose devices for gaming showed robust growth. In 2012, 13% of respondents stated that they played online games on their mobile phones, which is more than double the number in 2009. At the same time, 5% of UK consumers used tablets for this purpose, while this option was practically non-existent in 2010.

Another survey carried out by Ipsos MediaCT reached similar conclusions, suggesting that the use of games consoles was losing ground. Over the period between January 2011 and November 2012, penetration of the most traditional gaming platform dropped, or at best remained unchanged.

One of the key conclusions from both surveys is the fact that casual gaming is emerging as a preferred option for gaming over traditional solutions offered by Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft. The main reason is that casual gaming platforms are cheaper and more accessible.

The UK gaming market is predicted to change over the coming years, considering that one in three smartphone owners and more than two in three tablet owners used their devices to play games in November 2012, with expectations for these numbers to rise further.