New York, July 12 (IANS): Smartphones are the most used gaming device for people globally -- and across 12 countries, 47 per cent of all smartphone players are now women, a Facebook study has revealed, adding that gaming on mobile devices is increasingly becoming popular among women.

Facebook's data analysis and storytelling team Facebook IQ commissioned market research company TNS to survey people ages 18-plus spanning 12 countries representing North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle-East and Asia on their use of mobile as a gaming device.

The survey found that on average, smartphones are the top gaming device for users -- at 71 per cent -- followed by computers at 64 per cent, tablets at 34 per cent and video game consoles at 26 per cent, adweek.com reported on Tuesday.

The survey also analysed the habits of mobile game spenders -- users who play games on mobile and pay for games on at least a monthly basis -- and found that these spending players were 2.7 times more likely to stay in-game for a "sense of community and belonging" than mobile non-spenders.

These spenders were also found to be 2.3 times more likely to stop playing games than non-spenders if community members stop playing. 

"On average across the 12 markets, 68 per cent of mobile game spenders said they discover games via social networking platforms. Other popular discovery sources were photo and video services at 57 per cent and chat apps at 54 per cent," the report said. 

Thirty-four per cent of mobile game spenders said they discover games by word of mouth.