The Asia Pacific market accounts for half the mobile gaming market, and will continue to grow as mobile adoption increases, a study suggest.

Overall mobile gaming and gambling revenues are set to reach $21.1bn (£13bn) by the end of the year, and grow to £28.2bn by 2016, the study by SuperData Research claims. Asia Pacific spending will account for $11.3bn, or 54 per cent of 2014s revenues, as the booming smartphone industry makes devices more affordable and ubiquitous in the region.

Mobile gaming spending is also growing at an individual level, with the average gamer now spending $25 a month in English-speaking markets. Emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia and Turkey show lower individual spending, but are demonstrating steady increases. Extending gameplay and progressing through games quicker were shown to be the primary reasons for in-app purchases, with 55 per cent of smartphone players spending money to purchase gameplay and life extensions.

“Asia is a key growth market obviously because of its sheer size, but also because were seeing a whole generation of cellphone users on the brink of upgrading from feature phones to smartphones (for instance in India) and a frantic growth pattern among Chinese mobile gamers,” said Joost van Dreunen, CEO of SuperData Research. “Major publishers like King have set their sights on Asia, further driving development in these markets.”