Predictions that the global online poker market could double in 2005 have spurred British online betting firm ukbetting Plc to launch a new poker site.”In the last year the arrival of broadband Internet connections has really made online gambling potentially a very, very big business,” ukbetting Chairman Peter Dubens told Reuters.

The company is also developing Swedish, German and Italian versions of their sites, Dubens added.

Emerging technology has made online gambling one of the more successful sectors of the online industry.

According to a report by investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, more than $237 billion were lost by gamblers around the world to gaming companies in 2004, and estimates place those numbers at about $277 billion by 2008. Since its birth in 1995, online gambling has grown to $9.2 billion globally, and is predicted to produce a 22 percent compound annual growth rate between 2003 and 2008.

Sports betting accounts for 45 percent of total online gambling spending, and other gaming accounts for 32 percent, though poker could overtake both those by 2008, the report mentioned.

In Britain, online gambling is becoming a booming industry. This is one of the few jurisdictions where online gambling is welcomed.

“We’re the market that’s embracing online gambling,” said DKW analyst Andrew Lee.

Earlier this year, PartyGaming, the world’s biggest online poker company, stated that it was considering one of London’s largest share listings, estimated at over 3 billion pounds ($5.72 billion USD).

Online casino 888.com estimated that the amount spent on gambling by Britons has increased more than six times in the last year.

DKW’s Lee forecast that such larger companies would be a driving force behind a wave of future consolidation.

“What I see going forward is massive consolidation in the market, and you’ll end up with some massive portals that offer poker, sports betting and gaming,” said Lee.