Italians Crazy About Online Poker

August 27 - There is no doubt that the popularity of online poker has increased greatly in all parts of the world, although Europe is definitely one market that has seen incredible growth in the past few years.

Within the European market, there are several regions where online poker has become nothing short of a national frenzy - with the Italian market being one of them.

The Italian Consumers Defense and Orientation Association (ADOC) recently revealed the results of a survey that was undertaken this year and the results were released by the Agipro news agency. The survey examined the online poker habits of the Italian nation, including the amount of money spent in this industry.

One startling fact that emerged from the survey was that Italians spent around 350 million euros each year on at internet poker sites. If we look at a rough calculation of the number of citizens in the country, we see that this translates to each Italian spending 600 euros each year on internet poker.

The ADOC survey also examined the internet gambling habits of Italian overall - not only limited to online poker. According the results of the survey, of the 60 million or so citizens that make up the Italian population, at least two million have participated at one time or another in a game of chance on the internet, including the lottery, scratch cards bingo or others.

One fourth of those Italians who gamble on the internet, usually do so at specialized poker or casino sites that are positioned offshore, according to the ADOC survey.

The results of the survey were analyzed in a statement released to the press by the Consumers Defense and Orientation Association. "The mania of online gaming attracts Italian people more and more, as shown by the fact that visits of our compatriots to internet casinos have increased 25% in a year," read the statement.

"Gambling may become an addiction," warned the survey.