Increase in Online Gaming Reported in 2010

In spite of a recession in the economy as a whole, a 12.5% increase in online gaming has been reported for the year 2010. A recent report by H2 Gambling Capital, a company that tracks and monitors rates and activity in the gambling industry, points to an increase of 12.5% in online gaming in 2010. There are those that may argue that this increase that relates to approximately ₤18.8 billion could be partly due to betting on the World Cup in the summer of 2010. The H2 Gambling Capital study maintains that the growth amount for 2010, without the World Cup football betting amounts is 11.4% that is still a considerable increase. The remaining growth in the figures in these statistics is due to an increase in online bingo and online casino. Online bingo was particularly successful producing ₤1.7 billion, that shows an increase of 28.4% in relation to last year. Also in 2010, online casino figures show ₤4 billion that represents a 13.3% increase in comparison to 2009. The largest area in online gaming is still online betting that involves sports betting and showed a 10.8% increase in 2010.   Online poker also showed a rise in growth, even though many sites felt a reduction in players.  According to H2 Gambling Capital, poker maintained an overall growth thanks to new market openings in this field in France and Italy. There is strong competition in the online gaming industry and this has resulted in 160 less online gaming sites than at the beginning of the year.  As per the same H2 Gambling Capital study, the end of 2010 shows 2,400 such online sites. H2 Gambling Capital is a UK based company that monitors information regarding online gambling activity. Further growth in online gaming is anticipated for 2011, together with an expected increase in mobile gaming.