PWC Review Of Global Gambling Released

Published: Wednesday, June 21, 2006 Online-Casinos.com

PWC REVIEW OF GLOBAL GAMBLING RELEASED

Global revenue from gambling is expected to climb 8.8 percent annually from $82.2 billion last year to $125 billion by 2010.

The internationally respected profession business services group PricewaterhouseCoopers has released a new study of global gambling which shows that worldwide revenues are expected to climb by 8.8 percent annually, eventually reaching a stunning $125 billion a year by 2010 - only four years away.

Fueled by new casinos in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau, the Asia-Pacific region will grow the fastest at 14 percent annually, surpassing revenue from the region encompassing Europe, the Middle East and Africa when it hits $23 billion by 2010, the firm said.

The United States, which is predicted to remain the world's largest gambling market, is expected to see gambling revenue grow 6.9 percent per year, from $53.4 billion in 2005 to $74.5 billion in 2010, it said.

Billions of dollars of investment in new casinos in Nevada are expected to give the state's gambling revenue an annual 8.2 percent increase from $11.7 billion to $17.3 billion, boosting the state's share from 21 percent to 23 percent of the U.S. gambling market.

Tribal casino operators are seen increasing their share of the U.S. market from 42 percent to 43 percent, growing from $22.7 billion to $32.5 billion by 2010.

Casinos in Atlantic City, N.J., are expected to see revenue inch higher from $5 billion to $5.8 billion, as its share falls from 9 percent to 7 percent of the U.S. market because of competition from new slot machine operators in surrounding areas.

"The slot parlors are moving in," said Mary Lynn Palenik, PricewaterhouseCoopers' director of entertainment and media practice.

Excluding the United States, where online gambling is illegal, revenue from bets placed on the Internet globally are expected to double, from $5.1 billion to $11.4 billion by 2010.

While online gambling is experiencing rapid growth, more important is the expansion of legalized casino gambling in some markets, Palenik said.

Since handing out new licenses in 2002, Macau's gambling market has exploded. Its revenues are expected to climb 16.1 percent a year from $5.5 billion in 2005 to $11.6 billion in 2010.

Gambling legislation passed in Britain last year is expected to spur revenue growth of 16.8 percent a year from $3 billion in 2005 to $6.6 billion in 2010. Likely casino legalization in Japan, Taiwan and Thailand would add $246 million by 2010, the report said.

Singapore, which overturned a decades-long gambling ban last year, is seen reaping $150 million in casino revenue by 2010.