It Coulda Been Us: Online Gaming Predicted to See Strong Growth in the UK

Strong growth in the online gaming market is predicted in the UK by online gaming industry review site OnlineGaming4U.co.uk. Their prediction is based on more favorable gambling legislation and the Internet’s continued growth.

According to Dave England, a spokesperson for OnlineGaming4U.co.uk, “Since the latest gambling legislation was introduced, the industry in the UK has seen a dramatic rise in value and traffic. Online casinos based in the UK are performing well, and the competition between them is hotting up, resulting in better offers and sign-up bonuses for customers.

“With broadband Internet access becoming almost universally available over the last few years, online gambling in the UK has enjoyed steady growth, and we predict this will continue for the foreseeable future. The only difficulty now for consumers lies in choosing the best online casinos, and finding the best welcome bonuses available.”

The UK’s Gambling Act 2005 introduced sweeping reforms that allowed casinos to advertise, and the availability of broadband Internet in the UK over the last five years has grown dramatically.

According to OnlineGaming4U.co.uk, less stringent restrictions on advertising gambling and fast broadband connections will lead to more customers for the gaming industry, increased competition between casinos, and steady industry-wide growth in coming years.

Of course, it could have been us. If the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was never passed as part of former Senator Bill Frist’s abortive attempt to gain the presidential nomination, and laws were enacted instead to regulate and tax the online gaming industry in the United States, the majority of those online gaming sites would be licensed, located, and operating in the United States—providing US players with a safe, regulated gaming experience, not to mention billion of tax dollars that now go directly into the UK’s coffers instead of ours.