Investors Remain Interested in Online Casinos

Every single day, almost 2 million poker players frequent online casinos and throw their chips into play. And as the action at online casinos increases, investors have become more interested in the increasing popularity of the Internet gambling industry.

More than 70 percent of players who frequent online casinos come from the United States, and a recent article in the American weekly Newsweek showcased that the serious investor interest in online casinos is clearly on the upswing.
Newsweek reports that because of the attention online casinos have received via major media outlets, the investment opportunity is golden. The World Series of Poker on ESPN and the World Poker Tour on the Travel Channel, in the United States, have made poker a common “sporting event” discussed at water coolers in businesses all across America. With the rise in TV popularity has come the rise in online casinos.
There are about 300 major online casinos that tout poker specifically on the Internet, and business is booming. Stocks of online casinos are on the up on the London Stock Exchange, where major online casinos based in Gibraltar and other nations are traded.
Newsweek reported that other online casinos will soon follow the online casinos who have already offered their companies to the public at low stock prices, and that investing in the industry will soon become much more widespread.
However, despite this continued interest in online casinos, online poker is still technically against the law in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Nevertheless, as the online casinos continue to rake in dollar after dollar, the U.S. government has yet to truly enforce its anti-gambling regulations.
Lawyer Anthony Cabot, based in Las Vegas, where online casinos meet land-based casinos as a gambling haven for bettors worldwide, said, “Everybody is comfortable that the U.S. government is not going to take any enforcement action.”
The Newsweek article continues and goes into vivid detail in explaining the legal, tax, and operational ramifications and intricacies of the industry, especially the offshore companies who have invested millions in operating online casinos from Caribbean islands and other un-taxed locations.
Online poker revenues have grown from $83 million in 2001 to over $2 billion today, and this amount will most surely double by 2005, according to the research firm Christiansen Capital Advisors.
U.S. investors will sure look to new online poker and Internet gaming IPOs in the future because of the immense chance for a windfall. Nigel Parson, a research analyst in London, said, “This isn’t like the dot-com opportunities of the past, this spews out cash like you’ve never seen.”
With immense popularity and profits, the online gaming industry is succeeding. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are involved in forthcoming IPOs in the industry. Investing has reached an all-time high and continues to grow. But regulation risks still remain.
Still, as millions of players continue to splash the pots online, the games will continue to flow. So will the cash.

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