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This recession will prove a test for the online gambling sector, which is already showing some signs of adverse affect though they are not getting hit nearly as hard as many other industries.
On Wednesday, PartyGaming reported stagnant revenues during the 3rd quarter, caused partially by gains in the U.S. Dollar, their reporting currency. Party operates nearly exclusively in Europe these days with some Asian and Canadian business. The company pulled out of the US market in late 2006.
In the last recession, the industry did not exist, writes Dominic Walsh of the Times Online.
"The first gambling websites started to appear in the mid-1990s, although it was only the advent of broadband that allowed the industry to proliferate.
"It is impossible to make an informed analysis of how the industry will fare as the recession deepens, although the early signs are that it will remain relatively resilient. One factor in its favour is the growing perception of surfing the web as a leisure pursuit. Young people spend an increasing amount of time at their computers communicating with friends, watching movies and downloading music, and a propensity to gamble is likely to be sated online rather than via a visit to a local bookmaker.
"PartyGaming's latest trading figures suggest that the recession is starting to have a marginal impact, as evidenced by punters making smaller deposits in their accounts and reducing their spending, although to date it has been difficult to disaggregate the economic impact from the sharp fall in the value of the dollar."
Not so fast though.
Global Betting & Gaming Consultants Executive Warwick Bartlett said last month that the "current economic downturn with high energy costs, cheap broadband internet connection and a smoking ban in all licensed premises in most countries of the world is creating a perfect storm
for internet gambling.
"People are leaving their cars in the garage, playing online bingo or watching a match on TV and placing a bet from the comfort of an armchair," said Bartlett. "The land based businesses are going to find it hard to compete with the value on the internet and with as much as
30% of gambling revenue now leaving the UK and going offshore thegovernment should take note."
Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
