New Online Gambling Stats From eMarketer
Published: Wednesday, November 16, 2005 Online-Casinos.com
New Online Gambling Stats From eMarketer
Worldwide online gambling revenues to top US$ 10 billion in
2005
The respected online marketing journal eMarketer
says that online gambling is quickly moving into the mainstream,
fuelled by the poker phenomenon, the growth of broadband and extensive
television coverage, and that worldwide online gambling revenues will top US$ 10
billion this year.
The company reports that these revenues represent only
"vig" or house cut for Internet poker room, casinos and sportsbetting operators,
indicating that overall online wagering in excess of US$ 200 billion would not
be an unrealistic estimate in a global sense.
"Fuelled by a poker craze,
the growth of broadband, and television coverage, online gambling is quickly
moving to the mainstream," eMarketer analyst Ben Macklin
revealed.
The eMarketer reports research that indicates 20 million to 30
million US internet users visited gambling or sweepstakes sites in February 2005
alone, representing about 15 to 18 percent of all US internet users.
"US consumer spending on gambling is roughly 20 times the amount
spent on digital music downloads," the report noted.
In Europe, the
report found 14 million internet users visited gambling or sweepstake sites,
with Germany having the largest number of users. As a percentage of internet
users, however, France and Sweden top the list.
"After phenomenal growth
during 2003 and 2004, particularly from online poker, the online gambling sector
is slowing, but that does not signal it's demise," Macklin said.
"For as
long as there is gambling, there will be online gambling, and whether it is
legal or not (in the USA) is irrelevant."
