Online Gambling: Bet, Call or Fold
(November 17, 2005)
Data from Nielsen//NetRatings shows that nearly 20
million US Internet users visited gambling or sweepstake Web Sites in
February 2005, equating to nearly 15% of all US Internet users. In
Europe, 14 million Internet users visited gambling/sweepstake sites,
with Germany recording the largest number of users. As a percentage of
Internet users, however, France and Sweden top the list. There is a
strong correlation between broadband and online gambling, so as
broadband penetration grows, the market for online gambling will also
grow.
More recent data from comScore Media Metrix showed that
in July 2005 30 million US Internet users (18% of all Internet users)
visited gambling sites that month. This is comparable to the number of
Internet users who visit retail music sites and is double the number who
visited gambling sites in December 2001.
Pew Internet & American Life reported in 2003 that 4% of
US Internet users (equating to approximately 5.5 million people) gamble
online daily.
eMarketer estimates that worldwide
best online casino gambling
revenues will top $10 billion in 2005 — and that's just the vig,
which means there was probably well over $200 billion in play over the
course of the year. "Fueled by a poker craze, the growth of broadband,
and television coverage, online gambling is quickly moving to the
mainstream," says Ben Macklin, Senior Analyst at eMarketer and author of
the Online Gambling report.
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