Gambling in Eastern Europe Higher than UK!

The emerging gambling markets of Eastern Europe are attracting interest from both land-based and Internet operators and, despite the economic crisis, the region holds interesting potential according to a new report published by Global Betting & Gaming Consultants (GBGC).

The gaming industry as a whole was still showing growth in 2008 in many of the 17 individual gambling markets covered in GBGC‘s report, suggesting the Eastern European gambling markets are not yet in recession.

There is a strong propensity to gamble amongst many populations in Eastern Europe. Croatia has 562 betting shops per million people, four times greater than the UK!

Internet gambling is also offering increasing opportunities in Eastern Europe, with the likes of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Slovenia embracing the online gambling revolution by allowing operators other than the state lottery to hold licences. Bulgaria and Croatia are scheduled to follow suit with new legislation later in 2009.

It would seem that the current economic crisis is causing governments to take a fresh look at gambling as a means of generating tax revenues.

Membership of the EU has benefited the economies and living standards of many Eastern European countries and operators cannot afford to ignore the opportunities that exist in the region’s respective gambling markets.