Online Gambling Rises In 2010 Despite Slow Economy
If the current economical stance of some major countries – the United States being a prime example – had anything to do with it, industry analysts would never have predicted that 2010 would see such phenomenal growth in the online gambling industry. Thus a 12.5% overall increase in internet betting revenue came as quite a surprise to many experts.
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H2 Gambling Capital recently issued its online gambling report showing that “egaming” winnings totaled an extraordinary $29.95 billion over the last four quarters. Although the World Poker Cup in South Africa was a substantial contributor, it only made up for 1.6% of the overall increase. Much of the trend stems from online bingo and online casino gambling.
Online bingo had the most impressive growth rate of all, generating $2.67 billion in winnings; a swell of 28.4%. The online casino industry rose 13.3% at $6.24 billion. Online sports betting is still the most popular of all internet gambling methods, jumping 10.8% from 2009 with $12.06 billion in revenue.
Somewhat surprising is that the online poker industry actually came in last, but still saw a significant augmentation of 7.1% with $5.06 billion in profits over the year. According to H2, online poker profits are likely to drop in the coming months due to the overzealous promotions of major online poker sites, offering increasingly higher bonuses to new real-money players.
The report also pointed out that, had it not been for the recent development of French and Italian online poker markets, the internet poker community would have certainly seen a loss in 2010.
It seems that the number of online gambling sites has actually declined, losing about 160 operators to drop below the 2,400 mark. According the H2, however, consolidation is to be expected, and actually a good sign for the future and maturity of the industry.
The report projects “low double-digit growth” to be a strong possibility in the years ahead, based upon the likelihood that major European contributors such as Spain, Denmark and Belgium initiate regulatory online gambling schemes, as expected. The exponential growth and appreciation for mobile devices, such as the smartphone, will also help to boost online gambling activity for the days to come.
It just goes to show that no matter what is going on in the world, gambling is a pastime people will continue to enjoy throughout. With the sunken economy in some regions, people may be cutting out on realistic expenses, such as going out to dinner or a movie, and instead staying home, saving those gasoline dollars and hitting their favorite online gambling community instead.