Conducted by local analytics outfit Telsyte for Chinese smartphone maker OPPO, the survey was run over April and May; the sample was stratified to the Australian population and the results weighted to ABC Census statistics for gender, age and location.

The report, titled 5G Futures, found that 46% of Australians play games on their smartphones, ahead of those who play on the computers (36%), but well behind console gaming (66%).

Of the smartphone gaming crowd, about one third were regulars and 55% played games online. But their interest was hindered by the sluggish broadband available, which put a spoke in the wheel for four out of five gamers in the last 12 months.

“From lag-free performance, faster downloads and improved connectivity, mobile gaming is set to explode in Australia thanks to the introduction of 5G," said Michael Tran, managing director of OPPO Australia.

"Not only that, but we will see the mobile gaming experience improve, thanks to advances in cloud gaming, AR and VR, which will take mobile gaming to the next level and compete against traditional platforms.

“This is why OPPO has invested significantly in its gaming capabilities, from cloud gaming to innovations within our devices that optimise the gaming experience. We believe we’re on the cusp of a smartphone gaming revolution and OPPO is positioning itself at the forefront of this industry."

The study also looked at OPPO users among the sample and found that 69% played games on their smartphones (23% more than the average). Among those who were looking to buy a smartphone this year, 43% wanted to buy one that supported an optimised gaming experience.

Two-thirds (66%) of online smartphone gamers, and one in three (33%) of those surveyed were also interested in cloud gaming, based on the potential of 5G.

Telsyte managing director Foad Fadaghi said he believed this was the next evolutionary step for online gaming and it would see the industry broadly develop cloud gaming strategies for the next generation of smartphones.

“The low latency of cloud based gaming on 5G will create a cutting edge online gaming experience, and cloud gaming will be a big driver for early adopters of 5G smartphones," he said.