Online Gambling Soars in the United Kingdom
Believe it or not, there are sensible politicians out there. Some of them, shockingly, even like extra streams of revenue! I know the concept sounds foreign, but it does exist. This magical land isn’t too far away, either – it’s the United Kingdom.
You see, like any country should, the United Kingdom enjoys money. They have quite a bit, but they’d like more. As such, they explore extra ways to get a steady stream of revenue. One of the most popular ways is, of course, online gambling.
Online gambling is on the rise in the UK. In fact, for 2014 alone, the online gambling market has risen by 22%. Online casino operators are using that fact to try to get legislators to not put extra regulations on them. If the new regulations come to pass, operators will be forced to pay a 15% consumption tax.
Online gambling is already huge in the United Kingdom, and experts believe that it’s only going to get more popular. Online gambling accounts for a staggering $25.4 billion pounds annually, which accounts for 30% of the gambling market. The entire gambling market totals $81 billion.
Please note than even though online gambling accounts for 30% of the online gambling market, land-based casinos account for the other 70%. Online and land-based casinos work together to produce revenue streams for the United Kingdom, as they should.
So what does the UK owe this performance to? Maybe they’re running stellar no deposit promotions across the pond, or maybe people just like the fact that they can play from home. Whatever the case may be, they’re doing things right over there.
Meanwhile, here in the United States, it’s apparently our given right to argue over whether or not an extra revenue stream would be a good thing. We’re not content to allow people to play from home and be happy. Honestly, it’s possible that the United States just likes to argue.
For those keeping score at home, there are more than a handful of countries where it’s now legal to gamble online, and they’re doing fine. The children remain unscarred by Internet poker, and identity theft is a non-issue. In addition to the United Kingdom, Australians also love gambling online, and an estimated 80% of all adults in Australia gamble online.
Online gambling will become a hot issue in the United States in 2015, especially with the inevitable reintroduction of the Restoration of America’s Wire Act, commanded by King Sheldon Adelson on a boat (without an Internet connection, of course!) made of money. More states are set to debate on whether they should legalize and regulate online gambling. Will common sense prevail, or will we devolve the issue into a circle of bickering for yet another year?