Online casinos are predicted to be amongst the few beneficiaries of Hurricane Ike as it travels through the Gulf of Mexico towards the US.
Forecasters are predicting that the hurricane will be hitting the Texas coast late Friday or early Saturday with the potential to cause large-scale damage.

As most businesses brace themselves to cope with the threat of widespread destruction, online casinos are likely to benefit from the forced closures of land-based gambling establishments.

Even if the casinos remain open the majority of players are unlikely to venture out in the face of serious weather conditions.

"With online gambling as popular as it is, people don't need to come to the casinos anymore. When the weather is bad they just stay home and gamble online," comments Jim Forrester, a dealer at a large Louisiana casino.

Casinos across Mississippi and Louisiana were shut for several days at the beginning of September due to the threat of Hurricane Gustav.

More than a dozen casinos were destroyed during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which devastated the two southern states.