The electronic gaming industry managed to grow by 12.5% in 2010 despite the global recession. The data was gathered by H2 Gambling Capital, a leading consultant and supplier of information in the egaming sector.

All facets of the online gaming business managed to show growth. Bingo was a big winner, showing £1.7 billion in gross win, an increase of over 28% compared to last year. Casino operators also boasted a £4 billion boost in gross win, up 13.3 % from the previous year. Online poker gross win jumped up over £3 billion. Analysts speculate the 7.1% increase would have been greater save for legislation in France and Italy that hindered poker’s growth in 2010.

Online betting was the big winner. Virtual sports books generated a gross win of £7.8 billion, an increase of 10.8% from 2009. Some of these revenues came from the World Cup but operators reported a general increase in football betting.

H2 Gambling Capital expects egaming to continue to flourish in 2011. Many European governments have ratified pro-gambling legislation. On the other hand, online gambling in the United States is a slippery slope. New Jersey offers the rest of the Union hope after sending a bill that would legalize online gaming to the Governor’s desk in January.