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Online casinos are turning a very interested eye toward Latin America.  The region holds a lot of potential as a market prime for expansion.  However, not all that glisters is gold.  There are some problems that still plague Latin America that may not make it quite the payday that online casinos expect.

The Centre for Telecoms Research reports that by 2011 there will be as many as 30 million broadband users in Latin American countries.  That would make the region prime for investment from the Internet gambling industry.

However, James Kilsby of Gambling Compliance, the regulatory information firm, issued this warning about entering the Latin American market, “It is important to remember that there are many cultural differences between the different countries in the region - and sometimes vast differences between the different regions within a given country - so making generalizations is extremely difficult.”

He is right the countries in Latin American could not be more difficult.  While it may be true that countries like Argentina hold a lot of promise, the same is not remotely true for countries like Brazil.

Argentina has the highest percentage of Internet users in South America with regards to population; that is 26 percent of Argentina’s population has access to the Internet.  Argentina is also experiencing a growing gross domestic product, meaning there are more jobs and consequentially people have more money to spend. 

On the other hand there is Brazil.  As of 2006, only 14 percent of Brazilians have access to the Internet.  The gambling industry in Brazil is largely an illegal market worth $7.8 million each year.

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