Still Pleanty Of Potential In Online Gambling

Published: Friday, March 03, 2006 Online-Casinos.com

STILL PLENTY OF POTENTIAL IN ONLINE GAMBLING

Latest research results show that there's still good growth in online gambling ahead

A new study by Harris Interactive and eMarketer is in the same ballpark as other reputable estimates when it puts worldwide online gambling revenues at $10.9 billion in 2005, up from $8.5 billion in 2004.

Paradoxically, the majority of U.S. and British adult respondents say they've never spent money at an online casino, reports Harris Interactive. According to the research firm, 95 percent of U.S. adults who are online say they've never spent money playing at an online casino, 94 percent say they've never spent money on online poker, and 97 percent say they've never bet on sports online.

While online gambling is legal in Great Britain, similar numbers of British adult respondents say they haven't put money on sports games (91 percent). Another 94 percent say they haven't played at an online casino and 95 percent say they haven't bet on an online poker game.

If only a small percentage of this demographic can be accessed successfully, it makes for a huge and as yet untapped potential online gaming market.

Perhaps due to the confusing U.S. legal status of Internet casino and poker gambling, online adults are divided over whether it should be banned or not, opines the study. 34 percent say they would support a ban, 32 percent say they would oppose it, and 34 percent are undecided. This is at odds with a survey last year by Scooop, which reported that 67 percent of US adults were against a ban.

In the US, eMarketer said surveys show divergent results on who gambles online.

One report indicated as many as 15 percent of all US Internet users visited gambling or sweepstakes sites at least once a month. But Harris Interactive surveys suggested some 95 percent of US residents never spent money at online casinos or other betting sites.

"One suspects that if online gambling were legal in the US, online users would have been less hesitant to admit to gambling online, and the poll numbers would be considerably higher," the eMarketer report said.

Asked if online gambling should remain illegal in the US, users were roughly divided, with 53 percent saying it should remain banned and 47 percent favouring legalisation.