Monday, November 27, 2006

The online casino industry has been faced with difficult decisions,
especially those catering to customers in the United States, since the
passing of the Unlawful Online Gambling Act. Although it has been a rough
ride for some, a report by the European Commission suggests that online
gambling, online casino business is still booming in Europe despite the
losses by their US-facing counterparts. Some of the particulars of the
report show that gambling amounts to 3 percent of the total EU GDP, and is
also set to rise even further as the US operators focus solely on European
opportunities. As well, the report suggested that following 2003, when more
than 51 Billion Euros was generated through gambling (45 percent lotteries,
and 17 percent betting), the European mobile gaming industry will be
exploding in 2007. CEO of Chartwell Games, Lee Richardson, said, "The
current drive towards licensing in Italy will offer new international
operators substantial retail and online betting and gaming opportunities in
a strong growth market; we are very excited by the new possibilities in what
has always been a key area of growth for Chartwell's clients." The European
market is ready to explode, and the new leading European online casino
firm's Cryptologic (CRYP), 888.com and partygaming can now focus on the
positives of the industry- It looks like it might be a very good time to buy
online gambling stocks.