A new study has found that the Euro is now offered a currency option at 78 percent of international online gambling sites and has overtaken the U.S. dollar as the most common option.
The U.S. dollar has long been the most common option but has been falling since the U.S. outlawed online gambling at international sites from within the country in 2006.
The study comes from a KeyToCasino.com research team, a site that studies the online casino industry.
According to the study, before 2006, almost every online casino in the world offered the U.S. Dollar as a currency option. Then came the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act which made it illegal for banks and credit issuers to process payments for U.S. citizens to international sites.
That led to many sites banning U.S. players. Since then the dollar option has declined to being available on about 75 percent of online sites.
“The UIGEA effectively banned online casinos, and without the large US market to target, the US currency became less of a priority for online casino operators,” said Garret Walker, a researcher from KeyToCasino. “This is particularly true for those casinos that began trading after 2006.”
The study also noted the popularity of online sites in Europe.
According to the study, the top five currency options in online casinos around the world are Euro, US Dollar, British Pound, Australian Dollar and Canadian Dollar. In addition to the US Dollar, the currencies that are now less common than they were two years ago include the Canadian Dollar, Swiss Franc, British Pound and Danish Krone.
