Billions Spent at Online Casinos

After some recent surveys, the German gambling fans spent over 3 billion euros at online casinos in 2005. In the last year, there were numbers showing that gambling at online casinos increased by 35 percent in Germany, compared to its neighboring countries Austria and Switzerland that spent 1.3 billion euros and 0.3 billion euros respectively at online casinos.

These statistics were made by consulting firm Gold Media on the performance of the online casino industry, lotteries and sports betting in Germany and Austria. Considering the amount of cash spent per capita, Austrians are by far the most avid online casinos fans, due to the fact that they spend 177 euros per year compared to Germany's 40.

And closely behind is Switzerland, a country that spent 36 euros per capita at online casinos in 2005. With all this, probably one of the most interesting fact unearthed by Gold Media's study is the fact that the difference between the spending habits of gambling fans depends very much on the different online gaming regulations operating in the three countries.

The fact that online gambling is considered an illegal activity by all the three governments. The Austrians are allowed to participate in sports betting legally. The state providers in Austria can also offer gambling at online casinos, while this does not take place in Germany or Switzerland.