Online Gambling Industry Growth Shows Shocking Figures

• Published: October 3, 2013
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More evidence came to light to prove that the online gambling industry is one of the most profitable sectors of the economy in Europe, Canada, and the United States. The revenue report for 2012 shows figures that can blow any economist's mind, and everyone is hoping that such possible results will influence the legislative bodies in those regins of the world so that online gambling will become a regulated and legal activity very soon.

According to the consulting firm H2 Gambling Capital, online gambling (which encompasses poker, casino games, and betting) is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. The report states that online gambling generated global receipts of approximately €25 billion, which also shows an increase of 7.2 percent in comparison with the previous year (2011).

A breakdown of the revenue report shows that online casinos generated 17 percent of this amount and online poker only amounts to 13 percent of the revenue, showing a continuous decline for the industry. The European market was appointed the main growth driver for the industry and it shows a penetration rate of 12.6 percent, the United States and Canada are a little bit behind since they only reported a penetration rate of 4.4 percent.

However, the results for the American market are expected to change very soon and experts foresee that it should show a comparable, if not higher, rate of growth for the online gambling industry than Europe. This is due to the size of the North American online gambling market, and due to the progress achieved in legislatory matters. At the moment Canada and the United States are taking major steps towards regulating online gambling. The latter has been characterized by strict legislation that made the industry fall apart in the last decade, but as of now, the states of New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware have already set the way for legalized online gambling and are granting licenses to online casino operators wihtin their jurisdictions.

These states have set expectations for many more to come, especially when it comes to online poker and online casino games. The American Gaming Association has been fighting really hard to accelerate the process, and everyone in the industry is interested because the American market currently represents 10 percent of online gaming in the world, and it could be so much more. The report also shows that Americans spent $2.6 billion in offshore online gambling operators so everyone is eager to bring that money home at times of economic stress.