Gambling reinvents itself constantly, and online poker is the product that seems to be the current guarantor of future growth rates. What began as triumphant advance in the USA is now leading to a global poker wave on the Internet:
- Poker will soon be the dominant online gambling offer. More than 60% of the industry experts surveyed believe that online poker will be the dominant offer in online gambling in 2-3 years.
- The amount gambled on poker websites around the world in 2005 is estimated to be more than USD 60 billion, and the commission revenues will be around USD 3 billion.
- Poker shows are a success on TV. Examples of successful poker TV shows include the World Series of Poker on ESPN and the European Poker Tour on Eurosport.
- Online site Paradise Poker was recently sold for about USD 300 million, and whispers of a poker site IPO with an estimated evaluation between USD 4 billion and USD 8 billion are making online poker a business to watch closely.
As the success of online poker revs up, the gambling industry’s traditional operators (e.g., William Hill, Ladbrokes, …) are quickly adding poker to their online offerings.
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