the stoRy of iGaminG
the most siGnificant development since alexandeR GRaham Bell invented somethinG equally impoRtant
Once upon a time there was no internet. And even though most of us do vaguely remember a time without our virtual companion most of us feel as if we have a limb missing if we cannot access our online world at the touch of a button, anywhere and on anything. It has got to be the most significant development since Alexander Graham Bell invented something equally important.
For business purposes it has opened the door wider than we ever considered possible and today online gaming is one of the most popular entertainment activities on the World Wide Web. Although the birth of the internet dates back to 1993, online gaming began back in 1969, when Rick Blomme wrote a two player version of MIT’s famous Spacewar for
the PLATO service. Such games gained popularity in the late 1970s and early 1980s when commercial online services were introduced. In the 1990s as Flash and Java technologies were introduced there was an explosion of new websites offering interactive games for users.
Then when public and commercial use of the internet began in the mid 1990s it became apparent that this medium could also be used for gambling. Microgaming’s creation of gambling software coupled with CryptoLogic’s encrypted communication protocols helped set the ball rolling and the first
online gambling websites were launched in 1994.
And so the industry was born. In 1996 there were just 15 online gaming sites accepting wagers and by the end of 1998 this had increased to around 700 sites and an annual revenue of US$835m. By the end of 2002 there were 1,800 sites and by 2006 there were 2,500. By early 2010 this dropped to 2,332 sites with 631 companies in the online gaming business. Today, there are currently around 774 casino sites, 517 poker sites, 425 sportsbook sites, 376 bingo and 88 lottery sites whilst the remaining include skill games, backgammon and betting exchanges.
• Online gross gambling yield (GGY) globally was US$29.95bn in 2010
• There were 2,400 real money Internet gambling sites in operation in 2010 offered by 650 operators.
• Global e-gaming gross win amounted to: Casinos US$6.24bn, Bingo US$2.67bn, Sportsbetting US$12.06bn and Poker US$5.06bn in 2010
• By the end of 2009 the online casino market was worth US$4bn globally and is expected to rise to US$7.1bn by the end of 2014.
a GRowinG industRy Over the last 15 years internet gambling has made a relatively quick and explosive impact on the gaming industry. Internet betting has become a multi million dollar industry in a very
Lewis Pek Editor - Tel: +44 (0) 1942 879 291, Email:
lewis@gamingpublishing.co.uk
John Slattery Commercial Director - Tel: +44 (0)7917 166471, Email:
john@gamingpublishing.co.uk Karen Southall G3 Spain - Associate Editor, Email:
karensouthall@gmail.com John Carroll G3 Germany, Email:
carroll@carrollconsulting.de
Lisa Nichols Sub Editor, Gareth Irwin Senior Designer, Paul Jolleys Production Manager,
John Malin, David Addison, Bepi Mottes, Alexandre Rotenberg Contributors, Jennifer Pek Subscriptions Manager John Pek Commercial Administrator, Cover Image Gareth Irwin
For sales enquiries contact: John Slattery, Tel: +44 (0)7917 166471 - Email:
john@gamingpublishing.co.uk For editorial enquiries contact: Lewis Pek, Tel: +44 (0)1942 879 291 - Email:
lewis@gamingpublishing.co.uk
G3 and G3i maagzine are distributed to: Albania, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Cambodia, China, Denmark, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Macau, Malaysia, Norway, The Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, UK, Ukraine, Vietnam, US
4
viewpoint
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68