Media Metrix Reports That Online Gambling Grew by 17 Percent
Online gambling was the fastest "gaining category" in September, reporting a 17 percent gain over August, according to research by comScore Media Metrix, a leading analytical firm."The move to outlaw online gambling comes at a prime time for the football season, as people around the country are placing bets on their favorite teams, " said Jack Flanagan, executive vice president at comScore Media Metrix. "Speculation continues about the future of these online gambling sites, and fans will very likely continue to turn to fantasy games on traditional sports websites, which also saw big increases last month."
A Year of Growth
Online gambling continued its rise in 2006 despite some tough decisions by the U.S. government to restrict the Internet.Major sporting events, including the World Cup pushed traffic on gambling sites even higher, with research group Nielsen//NetRatings, even claiming that more than one million U.K. gamblers went online on the first Saturday of the competition to read reports and place bets.
Britain has taken the leadership reigns from the U.S., according to U.K. culture minister Tessa Jowell.
"The Internet is a global marketplace, and that's why we need action at the global level," Jowell told a news conference recently. Britain favors regulation instead of the "total ban" impractically imposed by the U.S., she said.
This success actually caused difficulties for online betting operations like BetUK, Sporting Odds, Bet365 and Betfair, all of which suffered delays with their sites, initally after the U.S. law was passed.
Betonsports finally succumbed to pressure from the U.S. authorities in August and stopped accepting bets on its site.
That decision came just a few weeks before a new U.S. law was introduced to outlaw online gambling.
Public companies lost more than £4 billion, close to $8 billion of their market value and millions of customers as they were forced to shut their U.S. operations. But that initial loss has been offset by recent gains, as consumers continue to seek out Internet gambling sites online, making them the highest rated sites during the fall.
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