American Online Gambling Reached $2.6b. in 2012

Americans spent a whopping $2.6 billion gambling websites in 2012, despite the state of legal ambiguity in the country, according to a fresh study on the casino industry.

$2.6b. Online Gambling

The study, which was conducted by the British research firm H2 Gambling Capital on behalf of the American Gaming Association, found that US online gambling accounted for a significant share of the $33 billion global egaming market, despite the legal ambiguity in the United States.

The AGA said upon the release that the results show the need for federal legislation to end the "ambiguity" on Internet betting. Nevada has implemented its legal online poker regime, while New Jersey and Delaware are set to implement at the end of November, but there is still no sign of a federal bill being approved.

Industry Execs Optimistic

Another study released last week at the Global Gaming Expo found that a majority of US casino industry executives are optimistic about the future. Eight out of 10 said regulation was faring either somewhat (47%) or very (45%) poorly in keeping up with technological advancement, but 69% believe regulators and execs will find common ground in the future.

In a very positive sign, 88 percent of survey respondents agreed that the regulatory community has become less rigid and more flexible in regard to updating and modernizing regulations than they were a short time ago.