Industry News
Internet Gambling Revenues Have Doubled, Report Shows
Internet gambling revenues have more than doubled in the U.K. during the past five years, a study for the government, released this week, demonstrates. The report bolsters the case that online gaming regulation -- as practiced by the British government -- works, experts are telling Onlinecasinocrawler.com.
The research was conducted by London-based RSE Consulting, which determined that more than a million people place bets "regularly online" in the U.K., a nearly third of the 3.3 million across Europe who gamble on the Internet. The industry takes bets of 3.5 billion pounds or $6.65 billion -- a year, with the average bet of 1,000 pounds, or $2,000.
Government officials from Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and South Africa are partaking in the meeting this week at the Royal Ascot racecourse outside London today.
Antigua, Gibraltar Leaders
"I want to secure international support for agreed standards of regulation," said Jowell.A copy of the Jowell plan, under consideration this week by government officials from around the globe, shows that nations must adhere to the idea that "remote gambling" should be safe, and follow standards set by the British.
The U.K. government figures there are 2,300 gambling sites on the Internet across the world, with Antigua the leading host nation, followed by Gibraltar. The U.K. has 70 online betting sites, presently, though none currently offer games like poker, blackjack, and roulette.
"Remote gambling has gone from a niche to a mass market in a matter of years," Jowell told reporters. "We are optimistic that by at the end of the day we will have achieved a number of things. There is a recognition that it is in the interests of all our citizens that we move to a framework of global standards on Internet gaming."
The U.K. government has ``taken a diplomatic approach'' to the regulation of online gaming, a spokesman for PartyGaming.com said. ``The government has notched up a pretty big success to discuss the issues.''
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