GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 16 - May 2011

By Lorien Pilling A s the online gambling markets in key European countries become increasingly competitive in the fight to attract and retain customers, op- erators are constantly searching for new, untapped markets in which to offer their services. The advent of the Internet has certainly shrunken the distances involved in doing business around the world and, in theory, has made virtually every coun- try “reachable.” But for online gambling there are still a number of practical fac- tors that determine whether or not a re- gion is a viable emerging market. A country’s population is often a simple but useful starting point when assess- ing emerging markets. The assumption is that a large population increases the likelihood that there will be a viable on- line gambling market base if 3 to 5 per- cent of the adult population are potential customers. Of course, this is a very sim- plistic measure and taken on its own can mean that good markets are missed. For example, Hong Kong has a population of around 7 million people but has a strong online betting sector, with both the mo- nopoly Hong Kong Jockey Club and the gray market. So it is important to look at several fac- tors in combination, and the propen- sity to gamble is another key issue to consider. A measure of the propensity to gamble can be gauged from existing land-based operations. In most markets Searching for the Next Mother Lode — Emerging Online Gambling Markets Searching for the Next Mother Lode — Emerging Online Gambling Markets