Online gambling trends show economy on recovery track

Just a few years ago everyone believed that gambling is in general recession-proof and no economic downturn could slow down the casinos and gambling halls. Needless to say, the bankruptcy filings and bleak financial reports from the casinos all over the country proved that theory wrong. Of course, the online casinos and other online gambling websites turn out to be just as vulnerable to an economy slow-down as their land-based counterparts. We have always kept our fingers on the pulse of the internet gambling industry and we felt that pulse slow down considerably last year with millions of people losing their jobs world-wide and those lucky enough to have missed the massive layoffs - saving every penny and spending none on recreation in the form of gambling, whether online or offline.

But from our recent conversations with various online casinos and sportsbooks - the recovery, at least in the United States, may be well on its way. The online casinos point to an increase in the number of new gamblers signing up at their properties and while the average amount of money spent gambling online is still well below what we have seen in previous years, it's slowly improving, as well. The Kentucky Derby was another success story. We, just like any other gambling commentator, were bracing for a disappointing interest in the Kentucky Derby betting this year, especially after the bad numbers the sportsbook saw during the NCAA Tournament. Were we surprised when it turns out the Kentucky Derby this year actually generated much more interest compared to last year, especially when considering this time last year we have just began talking about economy slowdown.

Of course, the improving numbers at the online casinos and sportsbooks could hardly be an indicator for economic recovery you would see coming out of from the experts and Wall Street analysts. But we, who have seen the online gambling industry decline with a pace equal to the U.S. economy, are confident to draw the conclusion that the worst may be indeed over. With people spending again at the online and offline gambling venues, this is a good enough trend to show recovery just as any other.

Published on 05/05/2009