$10bn a year raked in

LATIN Americans spend around $10bn a year on gaming and gambling according to a new report by to Research and Markets’ latest study. It also claimed that if both legal and illegal gaming activities in Latin America were combined, the region would generate more than $150bn a year, a new report has revealed.

 Costa Rica, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela are considered to be the most prolific gambling countries in the region, where slot machines, casinos, horse racing, lotteries and bingo entertain millions of people each day.

Internet penetration in Latin America by 2009 was at 32.1 per cent, reaching over 182.7 million people – this represented a 30 per cent increase on the previous year. The report also states that the existing telecoms infrastructure and internet and mobile penetration levels provide interesting opportunities for mobile, internet and interactive TV gambling applications.

.