Although the culture of online gaming began in the US, it is countries with relatively lax gambling laws that are also reaping the benefits.

Figures suggest that Britain has had a very strong year for online poker games.

During 2005, three online gaming companies were publicly floated on the stock market, with major online gaming website PartyGaming raking in £500 million in revenue and was floated for over £4.5 billion.

In addition to the increased popularity of online gambling, a barrage of books and games have also hit the high streets just in time for Christmas.

Chief executive of PartyGaming, Richard Segal, comments on the profitability of the company as well as the success of such an innovative idea.

"The beauty of it all is that we've invented nothing new. We're just taking games that have been around for decades and putting them in people's homes," he said.

It is anticipated that PartyGaming will launch a range of games in six new currencies and languages during the second half of 2006.

Mr Segal also commented on the positive future he sees for the online gaming industry as a whole as information technology continues to develop.

After the flotation of PartyGaming in June, the PartyPoker and Starluck Casino owner is now worth over £7 billion.

This growth is set to continue with plans to launch a new PartyCasino and the introduction of the "shared purse" system which lets online gamers switch from game to game with the same funds.