Macau is rapidly positioning as the gambling capital of Asia as the new resorts and casinos started reporting huge profits that could surpass the United States in casino gaming revenue by 2012, according to a study released last week.

Macau's stunning hotels and casinos, along with Singapore casinos could start an unstoppable growth in the Asian region. Of the 23 industry executives, analysts and academics polled, more than 80% expressed that Asia's dominance on the gambling and sportsbetting market is likely to happen.

"The results ... foretell a remarkable future for the Asian gaming market. There is no doubt this is an exciting time in Asia for the gaming industry." said Frank Fahrenkopf, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association, which conducted the survey.

American casinos raked in US$34.1 billion (€22.0 billion) in 2007, according to the association. Asia's take was estimated between US$15 billion (€10 billion) and US$20 billion (€13 billion), it said.

The report was released ahead of a regional gambling conference in Macau. The Global Gaming Expo Asia runs through Thursday

Among other findings, a majority of those surveyed expect Macau to remain Asia's market leader. The southern Chinese gambling enclave saw revenues grow at an annualized rate of 41 percent between 2005 and 2007. Along to the brick and mortar casinos, online poker and online casinos are also growing in Asia; the recent surveys revealed a growth of about 8% only in the first quarter of 2008 and the interest seems to be increasing among Asians.

Last year, Macau casinos took in US$10.3 billion, according to the government. In 2006, the former Portuguese colony surpassed the Las Vegas casinos as the world's top gaming center.