As a proof of how popular online casino is now, article points to stock market gains of the world’s biggest online gaming companies between 2004-2006 to illustrate how quickly fortunes were made – and lost, quoting the iGaming Global Top 30 Index, (an index of the stock market performance of the biggest 30 online gaming companies) which soared 40 percent between July 2004 and August 2005.

Last year, online gambling was worth an estimated .4 billion (GBP3.5 billion) overall, but that figure that could rise to – billion if the market was opened up, analysts told Interactive Investor.

Here are other statistics that will matter a lot for the future of online casino for the coming year 2011:

The Federal government’s non-partisan accountants, the Joint Committee on Taxation, have estimated online gambling could generate between billion and billion in new revenue by 2019, depending on the number of states that opt into a federal regulatory program. US nationwide unemployment rates are currently estimated at around 10 percent, and 48 of 50 states face budget shortfalls. In a Federal context, the government is currently running a deficit approaching .3 trillion.

The economic backdrop against which to promote regulation and taxation of internet gambling has arguably never been more favorable,” the article asserts, claiming that major companies like Party Gaming are getting increasingly excited at the prospects of a more enlightened US approach to a hugely popular pastime.

“We are seeing things from a legislative perspective that are quite exciting for us,” Jim Ryan, chief executive of PartyGaming said which noted that his comments undoubtedly reflect the mood of a growing contingent of gambling operators on both sides of the Atlantic.

The .3 billion merger between Bwin and Party Gaming is also a positive sign. In a note to investors recently, the Morgan Stanley leisure analyst Vaughan Lewis said: “The overall political tide is moving firmly in favor of regulation, rather than prohibition.”

With its expertise… market-leading technology, strong marketing capability and good brands, we think the combined entity of PartyGaming and Bwin would be extremely well positioned to benefit from any market opening in the US. We include nothing in our forecasts for the US, so any new market here is pure upside.

In a recent Barclays Capital research note, the investment bank said: “In the event of Federal regulation, we believe PartyGaming would be the likely key beneficiary. Under this hypothetical scenario, we estimate the potential [underlying profits] uplift could be 94 percent for PartyGaming and 58 percent for Bwin and 888. On a state-by-state hypothetical scenario, we estimate the uplift for the group would be considerably lower, but still meaningful.

The article goes on to suggest that the merger has spurred other major industry companies – especially those that have made their peace with the US authorities – to look at alliance possibilities, and examines the potential of several well known groups in the industry. One of the more interesting speculations is that Harrah’s Interactive, the online division of the giant Vegas land gambling group, could be considering a GBP262 million, or 76p a share run at 888.com.

The successful IPO of Betfair is also flagged as a positive sign. Having listed on the LSE at the end of October at 1,300p, the shares soon touched 1,600p-plus, as tracker funds piled in confident it will canter into the FTSE 250 index at the December review with a market value above GBP1.6 billion.

After looking at the possibilities of individuals states within the US independently legalizing online gambling, the Interactive Investor advises that there have been exciting developments, with New Jersey leading the way but moves afoot in Florida, Iowa and California. State or federal, whoever wins one thing is clear: more and more stakeholders in the US are finally coming around to understand the risks and implication of a ‘do nothing’ strategy,” II observes. This is an opportunity cost and gambling companies are getting their bets on regardless.But even as gambling industry stakeholders duke it out in the halls of legislatures around the country, as well as on Capitol Hill in Washington, the very fact that the conflict between them is intensifying signals that interest and investment in pushing for online gaming regulation is rising.

There are billions of dollars out there to harvest and market share to win, the entire online gaming sector looks ripe for an upturn in coming months. Investing in online gaming companies has always been a white knuckle ride – and there looks to be every sign this particular circus is once again rolling back into town. A brighter or should I say a tougher year that most online casino sites are into to this coming 2011.

Blocking gambling online is becoming more and more necessary as so many individuals are becoming deeply involved in an online gambling community that is neither profitable nor beneficial in terms of entertainment. It is now estimated that one in ten people have an online gambling habit. A gambling addiction does not necessarily mean that the person is glued to a computer twenty four-seven; it simply means that the person cannot stop gambling online. Not being able to stop causes a knock-on effect of not being able to control. It is happening more and more in homes everywhere and many people are unaware that members of their family have an internet gambling addiction until it is far too late.

To block gambling websites means to block the addiction that might result in indiscriminate online gambling. Taking a stand and making an effort to block betting online and the websites that encourage gambling is to take a step in the right direction. Any member of the family of any age group might be coerced into a gambling addiction by the kind of websites that offer internet gambling.

A gambling addiction of any kind is destructive but an online gambling habit can be kept secret for a lengthy period by the obvious ability of the gambler to keep his activities private, unless an effective block gambling web filter is put in place as a precaution.

The appropriate blocking software is easy to install and will filter and block internet gambling websites. The risk of addiction to such sites is alarmingly high and an addict will usually be deep in debt by the time the problem is discovered. It is far better to address the problem and install the proper tools designed to block gambling websites completely.

Once an addiction is in place, it can be almost impossible to eradicate. So many families live through trauma and distress needlessly when a member of the family has frittered away a huge amount of cash, simply because the right preventative measures were not taken. Take charge of you family’s online health and install a good quality web filter to ban gambling from your home computer.