7 of 10 U.S. adults placed some sort of
wager in the last year.
According to the NCAA, 35% of male college students
bet on sports.
$600 billion changed hands last year worldwide as a result of
The online gambling industry generated $12 billion in revenue in
2005.
Online sports betting is estimated to be 5 times bigger than Las
Vegas sports betting.
Illegal sports betting barroom
bookies) is estimated to be 35 times bigger than Nevada.
Over 20 gambling companies are listed on non-U.S. stock
exchanges. The biggest poker company has a market value of almost $9
billion. The biggest sports betting company has a market value of
almost $3 billion.
The biggest
sportsbooks employee over 2,000 people during football
The MGM-Mirage has publicly lobbied to allow U.S. companies to
take part in online gambling.
Gambling is entering mainstream corporate America: Liberty Media
(owner of the QVC and Encore TV networks) is finalizing the purchase
of Fun Technologies, which owns a majority interest in the Don Best
sports information company.