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Learn how to
make money freelance writing for the gaming industry in my book, FREELANCE
POKER WRITING: How to Make Money Writing for the Gaming Industry ©
Brian Konradt
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STATISTICS ABOUT THE
GAMBLING
INDUSTRY
by Brian
Konradt
Historians and
poker fanatics debate when and where the traditional game of poker began.
Different countries would like to credit themselves for the game’s early
and humble start. This makes the history of poker unsettled. One thing we can
agree on is that poker has evolved into big, BIG business.
Some fast
facts about the gambling industry:
• The online gambling industry
has grown from $3 billion in 2001 to $12 billion at the end of last year.
• In 2006, the World Series of Poker generated more than $158 million
in total prize money.
• The 2006 Main Event attracted the largest
field of participants ever to enter a live poker tournament. The previous
record of 5,619 players was set at the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event,
won by Joseph Hachem of Melbourne, Australia. Hachem pocketed a then-record
$7.5 million.
• The gambling industry in the US alone is a
50-plus billion dollar industry.
• The US gambling industry is
expected to reach $70 billion by the year 2011.
• Nevada, alone,
generates $11.6 billion in gaming revenues.
• Canada's gambling
industry is $13-billion.
• United Kingdom’s gambling
industry rakes in 42 billion pounds each year (that’s $78 billion in US
dollars). This figure is expected to grow significantly starting in 2007 due to
the ban of online gambling (for money) in the U.S.
•
PokerStars.com estimates that from 50 million to 60 million people play poker
at least once a month.
• Nevada became the first state in the
nation to permit mobile gaming (cell phones and handheld devices) in public
areas of casino resorts, including lobbies, lounges, restaurants and poolside.
• Juniper Research predicts that worldwide revenues for mobile
gambling, which is composed of casino-style games, sports betting, and
lotteries, will reach $19.3 billion by 2009. Windsor Holden, author of the
Juniper report, says that mobile gambling will make up roughly a third of the
entire estimated $60-billion mobile entertainment market for that year.
• The Travel Industry Association (TIA) reported that casino gambling
is a common activity on many trips and one that is growing in popularity.
• JENNIFER VARGIN, a twenty-two year veteran of the gaming industry,
said, “In the past couple of years I've seen a definite increase in poker
tournaments on the college level, even college sponsored tournaments. More and
more we are seeing tournaments from international locales. One particularly
exciting aspect of poker today is seeing more women making it to the big tables
and gaining notoriety along with some of the poker legends.” (You will
read more about Jennifer Vargin in an interview with her in a later chapter).
• According to the search engine Lycos, the top-rated search term
for the year 2006 was "poker."
Today television inundates us with
poker tournaments and poker TV specials. According to Rachael Church, author of
The Global Business of Poker: “The growth in the poker industry has
been fueled by many factors including increased television exposure, celebrity
participation, high net-worth prizes and ease of online access through
broadband penetration.”
|
Learn how to
make money freelance writing for the gaming industry in my book, FREELANCE
POKER WRITING: How to Make Money Writing for the Gaming Industry ©
Brian Konradt
|
|
