It is commonly assumed that the bursting of the dot-com bubble seven years ago was the first downturn that the online gambling industry had to face. The reality is that while internet companies were collapsing like a house of cards, virtual poker and casino operators went from strength to strength.

The big difference was that companies such as PartyGaming, 888 Holdings and Sportingbet actually had a business - unlike bizarrely named internet stocks, such as PrintPotato.com and Egghead.com, which somehow managed to raise millions from investors on a wing and a prayer.

The banning of internet gambling by the American authorities in October 2006 certainly shook the sector to its foundations, but, as operators quickly refocused their attention on new markets, they were able to tap into benign economic conditions to rebuild revenues.

In the last recession, the industry did not exist. The first gambling websites started to appear in the mid-1990s, although it was only the advent of broadband that allowed the industry to proliferate.

It is impossible to make an informed analysis of how the industry will fare as the recession deepens, although the early signs are that it will remain relatively resilient. One factor in its favour is the growing perception of surfing the web as a leisure pursuit. Young people spend an increasing amount of time at their computers communicating with friends, watching movies and downloading music, and a propensity to gamble is likely to be sated online rather than via a visit to a local bookmaker.

PartyGaming’s latest trading figures suggest that the recession is starting to have a marginal impact, as evidenced by punters making smaller deposits in their accounts and reducing their spending, although to date it has been difficult to disaggregate the economic impact from the sharp fall in the value of the dollar.

Jim Ryan, PartyGaming’s chief executive, acknowledged that the industry was entering uncharted waters, but remained sanguine about the likely impact of a recession.

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