RIYADH: The ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar, along with Beijing Winter Olympics in February drove mobile advertisement spending in 2022, according to a study conducted by market intelligence firm data.ai. Earlier in November, S&P Global Market Intelligence in its report noted that total digital advertisement spending globally could hit $534 billion in the 2022-2023 period, primarily driven by the Qatar World Cup, and the US mid-term elections. Touted to be the biggest sporting event in 2022, FIFA World Cup is expected to reach 5 billion people across all platforms, the global football body’s president Gianni Infantino said. The events like FIFA World Cup and Beijing Winter Olympics event will help global spending on mobile advertising to reach $362 billion in 2023 as consumers worldwide are expected to spend trillions of hours on their Android and Apple devices, noted the data.ai report, formally known as App Annie. The study added that this forecast is about 7.7 percent higher than the previously projected $336 billion of advertisement spending for 2022, and almost 25 percent up, compared to $295 billion last year. “Mobile will take over the share of advertising wallet as more time than ever before is spent in apps, with total hours on the track to surpass 4 trillion on Android phones alone in 2022,” the report said. However, it noted that the growth of advertisement spending will slow in the face of economic headwinds. The study, however, did not provide the exact figures for the projected hours users will spend on Apple devices. The report further pointed out that short video apps are also driving growth in the sector, despite global economic headwinds. “Spend in brand advertising will help bolster the effects of dipping spend on performance marketing in the face of tightened marketing budgets,” the report further noted. data.ai added that the time spent on mobile devices is expected to rise by half and surpass six trillion hours by 2028. It added that mobile-centricity, advances in connected technology, expansion of casual and core gaming, 5G rollout, demand for digital connection, self-expression and deepening personalization of apps will fuel sustained growth in time spent. The report, however, flagged that economic headwinds and privacy regulations will dampen mobile gaming spending this year and next year. "Consumer spending in mobile gaming will fall 5 percent in 2022 to $110 billion, and it is expected to again go down by 3 percent in 2023 to $107 billion,” it added. The report went on and said that seven applications including HBO Max and Chinese video platform iQiyi are expected to enter the $3 billion club, joining the likes of Netflix, Disney+, YouTube and TikTok.