An intelligence company in Hamburg has reported that online gambling has been on the rise in recent years, and that some companies involved in the online gambling business are finding it worthwhile to merge and consolidate their business. State laws for a long time remained silent on the position of online poker and other similar games, but that is gradually changing. With online gambling being so much easily accessible, more so through mobile devices, the need to have state laws dealing with poker and other forms of online gambling is becoming all the more pertinent.
Forecast Growth Rate of Online Gambling
At a global level, analysts predict a continued growth of online gambling, albeit in single digits. However, the prediction is that this growth could get to double digits within a period of four years, bringing in revenues in billions of dollars. What observers note is that the number of gamblers logging in from their mobile phones as well as tablets is on a rapid rise. In fact, particular gambling sites reckon that a good part of their revenue increase is a share from people gambling from mobile devices.
Has Poker News or anyone else reported on acquisitions?
Well, just as in other businesses, some investors do well in certain seasons even as others experience difficult times. Online poker or any other form of gambling is no exception. In the recent past and particularly in the last two years, some gaming companies have done exemplary well while others have been struggling. Avid readers of Poker News and other outlets that keep gaming enthusiasts informed were able to see that last year had William Hill and Paddy Power revelling in business success, with its online revenues increasing by around 20% in net. In the same period, nevertheless, Betfair’s growth was just moderate while Bwin.Party, another online gambling site, had dismal performance having its annual net revenues slipping downwards.
Upheavals like these are one reason some gambling companies have decided to merge as businesses, consolidating their financial power and business acumen while stifling competition within the online gambling arena. For instance, 2014 saw Amaya Gaming Group acquire Poker Stars and Full Tilt Power. Amaya is based in Canada. Poker Stars, on the other hand, had its origins in Costa Rica and had associations with an Israeli family. At some point the company shifted its base to Isle of Man but continued to acquire gaming licenses in various European countries. That goes to show how flexible online gambling companies are when it comes to choosing their base.
How is regulation of online poker and other online gambling activities developing?
Traditionally, most countries did not think well of gambling, whether online or within a brick and mortar environment. That has, however, changed over the years, and particularly now that various state laws are loosening up to allow for an expanded economy. The law in Netherlands today, for instance, is geared towards helping the country reap high revenues from taxation of income acquired from online gambling. Countries like the UK; France; Spain and others have set the field legally conducive to sports betting. When it comes to Italy, the atmosphere, legal and otherwise, is increasingly conducive to casino based betting games.
Of course there are a few countries whose state laws do not give any room to gambling, be it online gambling, online poker or any of those other betting games. These countries include Singapore, China and also South Korea. When it comes to Russia, state laws have been stringent, but it seems like things might soon change. There is already talk of how online poker can be allowed by the law and have some organization conduct self-regulation.