| | |  | Last Updated: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 |  | | | Who is Gambling at the Online Casino
- Wednesday, 5 Apr 2006
Online casino gambling is one of the principle activities that takes place on the Internet. The number of online casino gambling sites has grown as a result. Why is gambling so popular? People have always enjoyed betting. They see it as a game and paying for it does not bother them because one has to pay to be entertained. Who is the online casino gambler? The online casino gambler is likely to be male ( 85% men versus 14% women). However women are often prominent among the bigger winners online which would suggest that they are a smaller but determined bunch.
The language on the online casino sites is predominantly English. The Israeli national newspaper Yediot Ahronot asked the following question in a recent survey: “Which countries do most online casino gamblers come from?” The target areas were USA, Western Europe, Asia, Japan and South America between 1999 and 2004. They found that in 1999, almost 78% of online casino gamblers were Americans. By 2004 the overall number of online casino gamblers had risen to 15.9 million, but the USA's percentage had dropped to 33.3%. Western Europe started at 9.2% and reached 18.2% in 2004. Asia's figures rose from 8.2% in 1999 to 25.2% in 2004 (a three-fold increase); Japan increased from 5.9% to 12.6% (more than double) and South America increased from 4.8% to 10.7%. This is impressive growth.
How are government’s responding to online casino gambling? There's no doubt that governments, like private individuals, recognize the income potential of online casino gaming. Since it first appeared in 1995, over 80 governments have approved some form of play. The UK is prominent among the developed nations in recognizing and regulating online casino gambling. The UK's newly created Gambling Commission is setting the stage to make it much easier to set up casinos and gambling clubs, beginning in 2007. As a result, industry heavyweights like PartyGaming have already obtained licenses to operate in the UK.
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