There has been many questions raised regarding the future of the online casino industry, especially in light of recent legal matters and the fact that online gambling in the United States might be in jeopardy. One of the leading online gambling information sites, the Screen Digest, has conducted a study amongst 30 online casinos and mapped the progress of the industry since 2000 through 2005 and up to 2010. The study shows a detailed analysis of all major online casinos aspects, and projects upon the future of the gambling community and the online casinos industry.
The study mainly focuses on the United Kingdom's online casinos market, and portrays a very bright picture. According to the study, the online casinos market is expected to grow considerably. If 1.1 active players were playing at online casinos in the United Kingdom in 2005, it is expected that some 2.1 million will be playing by the year 2010. Moreover, the money spent on online gambling will also increase from GBP 660 million in 2005 to a whopping GBP 1.6 billion in 2010.
The study does not only address financial and statistical issues, but also paints a picture about the online casinos community, and the people that practice online gambling. Looking at the figures and analyzing the progress of the industry, the study indicates several changes that the world of online casinos gambling has underwent. From an industry driven by 'hard-core' gamblers, the online gambling market will be dominated by mostly first-time players, and infrequent visitors - mainly the mass audience. The types of gambling have also changed, and from games of skill and ability, the industry has shifted to games of luck and chance that offer fast and simple playing, such as online casinos lottery.