Online gambling market booming

Online betting and gambling are becoming increasingly popular in German-speaking countries: according to a study by the Berlin-based consultancy Goldmedia, Austrians spent an average of 177 euros per capita on online gambling last year - four times as much as the Germans (40 euros) and almost five times as much as the Swiss (36 euros). One of the reasons for this difference is the restrictive legislation in Germany and Switzerland, which leads to a migration of potential players to the gray market. Michael Schmid, analyst at Goldmedia, expects the market to triple by 2010. Parallel to this assessment, the international betting group Gamebookers.com is expanding its range of services: bets on TV ratings can now be placed with the online bookmaker.