An independent gaming consultant has tested the brand strength of some of the biggest names in the online gambling sector - 888, Betfair, Bodog, bwin, Ladbrokes, Paddy Power, William Hill, Party Poker and Pokerstars.

In order to measure the strength of each individual brand, gaming consultant Johh Apiafi took into account the frequency that each brand appeared in Google Alerts. He measured the total number of Google Alerts for each brand across December in order to define the strength of each brand and its presence online.

"The method’s simplicity is its trump card. Equally, the results were very consistent on a daily basis - this wasn’t a case of one brand having a lot to shout about during this particular period or having one or two very strong days that skewed the data," said Apiafi. The results of the test can be found below, with Bodog having the most occurences in Google Alerts in December.

1) Bodog; 2) PokerStars; 3) Betfair; 4) Paddy Power; 5) Ladbrokes; 6) Bet365; 7) William Hill; 8) Bwin; 9) Party Poker; 10) 888.