World Gaming Revenues Continue to Grow

The UK branch of auditing firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) has published a comprehensive research paper showing that the world's casino and online gaming market is expected to grow at just over 9 percent per year for the next five years.

According to the research, PriceWaterhouseCoopers predicts that between now and 2015, the global online gaming and casino market could be worth up to a staggering $182.8 billion, and that the Asia-Pacific area could well become the new biggest gaming growth area, exceeding even the United States.

By 2015 US Gaming Revenues Could Reach $73.3 billion

If PWC is correct in its analysis, by the year 2015 the Asia-Pacific region could see its total online gambling and casino revenues increase by as much as 18.3 percent to $79.3 billion. Meanwhile, assuming online gambling is eventually legalised and regulated in the United States, by 2015 US gaming revenues could well be as high as $73.3 billion.

Said PriceWaterhouseCoopers lead gaming partner, David Trunkfield, 'The casino gaming market in Europe, the Middle East and Asia has been the hardest hit of any region by the economic downturn with revenues slumping by twelve percent in 2009 followed by a further 7.2 percent in 2010, which was the third consecutive annual decline.

'We expect that revenues in these three core areas will reach $18.3 billion in 2015, which is up from $16.3 billion in 2010 and an average annual increase of 2.4 percent compounded annually. The weak economic conditions and the impact of adverse regulatory developments in some countries will curtail growth, ' he said.

UK Boasts a Highly Liberalized Online Gaming Market

The PWC research also revealed that currently the majority of legal and regulated online gambling occurs in Asia, the Middle East and Europe, but leading the way is the UK. This is not surprising considering the UK boasts one of the most liberalized online gaming markets in the world.

That said, PriceWaterhouseCoopers also revealed that the UK government needs to alter its online gambling regulations in order to receive taxable gaming revenues it is currently losing out on from UK-licensed online gaming operators based in offshore jurisdictions like Malta and Gibraltar.