Traditional Casinos, Bookies Face Online Competition

UNITED STATES – As reported by the New York Times: "…Whether technology has improved gambling's image and that of its clientele may be a matter of debate. What is clear is that the Internet is changing how gambling is conducted, just as it has changed auctions, securities day-trading and music sales.

"While Web casinos are not new, a new generation of online services like Betfair has emerged to allow sports bettors to wager not against the house but directly against each other. The services, by letting individuals set the terms of their own wager easily and efficiently, threaten to diminish the role of more traditional casinos, which set the odds of a contest and then assume the risk for paying a winning bet.

"Peer-to-peer betting, which has been increasingly popular in Europe, Asia and Australia, is one of the fastest-growing online gambling enterprises, according to industry executives and analysts. Now, several entrepreneurs are introducing similar services to cater to Americans even though such wagering operations are prohibited by federal law.

"…The betting exchanges are becoming aggressive competitors to the hundreds of Internet casinos situated and licensed in, for example, Britain, Costa Rica and the Caribbean. Those Web operations, offering virtual games like blackjack, roulette and poker, as well as wagering on sporting events, generate $7 billion to $8 billion in global revenue a year, according to Christiansen Capital Advisors…"