U.S. Gaming Ban Bound to Boost European Marketshare

Submitted on Wed, 2006-10-25 13:36October 25, 2006 - According to Mitch Garber, CEO of PartyGaming - until recently the world's largest Internet poker firm which lost 75% of its revenue when it shut its U.S. websites to comply with the new legislation enforcing a ban on online gambling - the European Union functions in a way that favors the online gaming business and that spells opportunity.

As more players turn to the Internet, the UK, Belgium and Italy are leaning towards regulating online gaming, as opposed to outlawing it. The general trend now in the EU is to encourage countries to abandon any measures which protect domestic firms when those states open their markets. As recently as Oct. 12th, regulators requested that members like Austria and France should cease their discrimination against international bookmakers & casinos.

 

London-based UBS analyst Julian Easthope believes it is still too early to declare which firms will most likey succeed in taking advantage of any opportunities across Europe due to the fact that the regulations are still undergoing development. The entire gaming market in the E.U. is valued at approximately $70 billion.

Paul Renney, a law partner in London specializing in Internet law predicts an increase in lobbying designed to significantly open the E.U. market even further, suggesting European states like the UK that typically take a more liberal approach towards regulation, and not prohibition, stand to benefit most.

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