CANBERRA - Australia stands to rake in the dollars if it relaxes online gambling restrictions, a new report suggests.
Australians spent about $790 million playing poker and other casino games through offshore websites in 2008 - and the global market is set to almost double by 2012.
The estimate gives weight to calls for Australia to rethink its prohibition of online gambling, the report by international accounting giant KPMG says.
There's a wealth of revenue to be made if Australia can shape and expand the market, which is set to explode given technological advances in mobile phones and other devices.
"It is an underground economy that could become authorised with a sustained period of re-regulation and expand significantly," KPMG's Anthony Travers said in a statement.
The KPMG report Online Gaming: A Gamble or a Sure Bet? projected the global market was likely to expand by 42 per cent to more than $32 billion by 2012.
Australia could harness the money spent on offshore websites if it relaxed restrictions, something other governments, including the United States, have been working towards.
A federal Productivity Commission draft report has recommended the government consider regulated access to local gaming sites, rather than all-out prohibition.
The commission's final report has yet to be released
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/nat...most-double-by-2012-report-20100415-sgwa.html
Australians spent about $790 million playing poker and other casino games through offshore websites in 2008 - and the global market is set to almost double by 2012.
The estimate gives weight to calls for Australia to rethink its prohibition of online gambling, the report by international accounting giant KPMG says.
There's a wealth of revenue to be made if Australia can shape and expand the market, which is set to explode given technological advances in mobile phones and other devices.
"It is an underground economy that could become authorised with a sustained period of re-regulation and expand significantly," KPMG's Anthony Travers said in a statement.
The KPMG report Online Gaming: A Gamble or a Sure Bet? projected the global market was likely to expand by 42 per cent to more than $32 billion by 2012.
Australia could harness the money spent on offshore websites if it relaxed restrictions, something other governments, including the United States, have been working towards.
A federal Productivity Commission draft report has recommended the government consider regulated access to local gaming sites, rather than all-out prohibition.
The commission's final report has yet to be released
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/nat...most-double-by-2012-report-20100415-sgwa.html
