Germany Proves Online Gambling Bans Fail, Studies Show 2M Gamblers

Gambling News - January 9th, 2010 - Written By Glen

On January 1st of 2007, Germany had, as a nation, banned online gambling. The legislation was enacted in order to preserve the monopoly on gambling held by the state. Despite this ban, almost two million Germans continue to gamble online.

The numbers showed that 22% of all net surfers have played or do play online poker. This equates to roughly 400,000 players. Online sportsbooks also accounted for a large number of Internet gamblers, bringing 18% of the players to different sports betting sites. Additionally, the research showed that 15% of all German online gamblers were female.

In the United States, it has been estimated that there are over 5 million online gamblers in the United States, ranging from the best online casinos to USA online poker rooms. The United States had banned gambling in 2006. Despite this ban, online gambling continues to be a multi billion dollar industry in the United States.

While both nations had banned online gambling, their bans continue to be nothing more than a slight inconvenience. Both Germany and the United States are contemplating repealing the legislation that would ban online gambling. The United States' initiative to legalize online gambling is currently working through Congress, spearheaded by Congressman Barney Frank.

Bitkom Research was responsible for the released data concerning Germany. As part of the Bitkom Group of Companies, Bitkom Research has become a leading organization for enacting studies on electronics and entertainment from around the world.

Source - http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=154521&cat=2