There is no doubt the online casino gambling industry is still thriving despite setbacks imposed by the U.S. Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. Although it is still too early to tell just how much of an impact this bill will have on the industry as a whole (for online enforcement regulations have not even been put into place), most analysts agree that so long as the demand from players remains strong, so too will the services of offshore online casinos and gambling sites.

One of the world's most respected financial analyst firms, Merrill Lynch, was recently cited by an online gaming publication and the UK Register, as predicting the global internet betting industry to be worth a staggering £270 Billion by 2015. A large estimate to say the least, nobody is quite sure just how Merrill Lynch came up with this figure, other than the fact that the online gambling industry is considered by many to be the fastest growing internet industry at the current time.

Online gambling, including that of poker, sports betting, bingo, online casino games and more, generated $12 Billion in 2005, which is expected to rise to $16 billion in 2006 and level out in the neighborhood of $23 billion by the year 2010. This is indicative of a 22% compounded annual growth rate, which albeit is an impressive figure, is nothing like that of the figures predicted by Merrill Lynch. An independent research survey instigated by the UK government recently determined the online gambling industry will be approximately worth $22.7 billion by the year 2010. In terms of localized contributions, regular gamblers in Europe gamble practically £3.5 billion each year.

It may seem hard to believe, but the online casino and gambling industry currently only contributes to roughly 3% of global gambling revenue derived from land-based institutions. Indeed, there is plenty of room to grow for the industry, which Merrill Lynch must have been taking into consideration when reporting their figures. Despite a prohibition in the U.S., government regulation is being adopted in several countries, which the U.S. will either follow in suit, or enact a costly enforcement campaign that will not be able to stop U.S. players from gambling at regulated offshore online casinos anyways.