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Casino Affiliate Convention organizer, Marc Lesnick, says the Tel Aviv online gambling scene is thriving despite a troubled economy.
"It's just like after 9/11, people are staying home and that gives them more time to gamble online," Lesnick told Gambling911.com.
He is currently embarking on a tour of Tel Aviv, one of the world's leading online gambling hubs and home to such established firms as Playtech, 888.com and Mansion Poker.
"Everyone I have met with is telling me the same thing. They are not seeing any downturn in business even with the bad economic conditions worldwide."
The Tel Aviv based gaming companies cater mostly to the European markets though some have ventured into Asia.
i-Gaming businesses that dot the Tel Aviv landscape act only as marketing arms and do not accept bets within Israel proper unlike many other online gambling strongholds such as Costa Rica and the United Kingdom. These companies provide stable employment at a time of uncertainty even in Israel where the economic forecast is grim.
The report cautioned that Israel's economy will be hurt by the global crisis, and outlined the risks going into 2009.
"Israel faces a period of economic weakness with marked downside risks. With investment and exports weak, our central scenario anticipates a decline in economic growth to 1.5% in 2009, with average inflation around 2%, all assuming implementation of policies recommended to support credit flows and stability, a flexible near-term budget stance backed by enhanced commitments to public debt reduction in the medium-term, and further monetary relaxation," the report states. "A modest recovery is projected for 2010. However, financial sector vulnerabilities abroad imply that risks are firmly to the downside."
Tel Aviv's continued success in the sector is shared by their competitors abroad. The likes of William Hill, England's second largest bookmaker, witnessed the most dramatic rise in its share price this past October after confirming that a slowing economy has left it unscathed and expanding in online gaming. All but one Costa Rican-based Internet gambling firm has expressed concern to Gambling911.com related to the recent economic woes.
Several of these online gambling firms will be exhibiting at Lesnick's famed Amsterdam convention during the last week in March.
