Players in two of the world’s biggest gambling cultures – the U.S. and Australia – got some news regarding possible decriminalization of online gaming, with legislation in the former softening to the reality of the average person’s devotion to personal freedom in computer use.

In the U.S., the Department of Justice tweaked the Wire Act of 1961 just before the year turned. In its decision, DoJ officials stated that the Wire Act, often used legally in cases against legal online gambling, actually contains “prohibitions [that] relate solely to sport-related gambling activities in interstate and foreign commerce.”

Most in the industry believe that this reversal will open the floodgates: “Internet gambling is about to explode across the nation, made legal under state law,” said Whittier Law School professor/gambling law expert I. Nelson Rose.

Meanwhile, an Southern Cross University study of over 6,500 people finding that “50% of participants had taken up [online] gambling in the past six years, making it the fastest-growing form of gambling in the country” is making waves in Australian media.

SCU professor Dr. Sally Gainsbury said that Australia’s “existing legislation [does] not discourage people from using overseas gambling sites.” Senator Nick Xenophon, long against legalized gambling, warned that “The next tidal wave of problem gamblers will come from online gambling unless we take urgent action now.”

File this one under “F” for “flimflam.” In eye-popping headlines, some online gambling industry content providers – and yes, that is the appropriate title for folks clearly applying no critical thinking whatsoever to faceless reportage of happy-faced good news – have been giddily announcing the exciting new finding by an organization which will go unnamed here.

To wit: A representative headline on the “story” reads, “Study Shows 10% of Internet Time Spent Gambling Online.” Wow, eh? Such a figure would indeed be serious evidence of the “surge in online gambling” similar outlets are “reporting” at present.

Here at LiveCasinoDirect, we’d prefer to add a little sobriety to these numbers and consider a few slightly more reputable sources. According to a Nielsen study of April 2010, Australian citizens – known as some of the world’s most devoted gamblers – spent about 7-1/3 hours per month … on social networking websites. The average social networker worldwide was on such sites some six hours that month – and this was a 66% increase in time spent year-on-year.

Since the 10% statistic represents at least a fivefold growth over a couple years ago, internet casino growth is outpacing the still-exploding Facebook by a factor of almost two … funny how the mainstream media hasn’t even noticed.

Nielsen’s year-end survey of Australian habits concluded that the average Aussie with broadband access spent just under 20 hours *per week* online. Were the ballyhooed “study” correct, this makes an easy calculation of eight hours per month spent gambling – and that’s just an average. In a study undertaken by Southern Cross University in 2010 stated that 30% of Australians over 16 gambled online that year.

Since the over-16s represent just about two-thirds of the Oz population according to the 2010 census, this means that just about 20% of all Australians gambled at an internet casino – this also means (using the fanciful 10% statistic) – that the average Aussie who plays online slots or other games *at all* is actually spending about 10 hours per week at the internet casino.

Now, wouldn’t it be just a tad shocking to discover that seemingly normal people are spending *57% of non-working, non-sleeping time at online casinos*? Clearly, this industry needs a few writers. Or even someone with any capacity for debunking clearly bogus statistics.

Australian casinos as employers are some of the largest single sites in their respective states and provide the bulk of the casino-related jobs in Australia. In fact, casinos in Australia spent $889 million in 2007/08, for example, employing just fewer than 20,000 staff members.

The number is only growing as the industry is becoming more polished and sound over time. Therefore it is easy to see how gambling in Australia has raised the standard of living for many people from the casino operators to the casino dealers and staff.

The sixth leading reason why Australian gambling and casinos are flourishing is because of the better and better regulation that is upheld for Australian casinos.

Included as number seven on the list of ascertaining the legitimacy and impact of Australian gambling is the amount of extensive staff training Australian casino employees receive and of all those registered training organizations that support the gambling industry itself.

The eighth argument is that Australian casinos paid 30% of revenues in taxes in 2007/08, totaling $1.2 billion.

Finally, discussed in ninth place in the study was how Australian casinos operate in compliance with casino and gambling specific legislation as well as within general legislation to provide responsible gambling environments.

Based on all this information, the Australian slots player or poker player, for example, has a wide range of online Australian casinos to choose from with confidence, both at home and abroad. Lucky for the Aussie, there is no place better to gamble than at home with a corker of a shot at winning. It’s a good day to play in Australia.