Year-end data report
The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) expects Europe’s total gambling revenue to increase by 7.5% to €87.2bn ($98.5bn) gross gambling revenue (GGR) in 2021.
Brussels-based EGBA took to Twitter to share its year-end data report published Wednesday in partnership with H2 Gambling Capital.
The positive outlook for 2021 skews somewhat when compared to 2019, against which gambling revenue is down 13%. COVID-19 restrictions hitting the land-based gambling sector was the major contributing factor. As European countries brace for another pandemic-tinged holiday season, it’s little wonder EGBA forecasts just a 0.4% rise in land-based gambling revenue for 2022 to €50.8bn ($57.53bn) GGR. For this year, however, land-based revenue was down a staggering 32% on 2019 levels.
online gross gaming revenue predicted to increase by 9% each year
The good news comes from the online sector. EGBA forecasts Europe’s online gambling revenue will rise by 19% this year to €36.4bn ($41.1bn) GGR. The European body said the pandemic is an accelerant for this sector, with online gross gaming revenue predicted to increase by 9% each year, hitting a high of 41% by 2026.
The future is mobile
As smartphones get smarter and betting apps more sophisticated yet more user-friendly, EGBA projects a growing trend in popularity for mobile usage when gambling online. For the first time ever, betting via mobile devices will take the lion’s share (50.5%) of bets made online in Europe this year. EGBA posits mobile devices will get used for 61.5% of all online bets by 2026.
EGBA also shared via Twitter that its members enjoyed a combined €10.9bn ($12.3bn) in online gambling GGR for this year, accounting for 36% of Europe’s total online gambling revenue.
Of that online GGR for its members, sports betting accounted for €5bn ($5.66bn), and casino gambling €4.6bn ($5.21bn).
Opportunities and warnings
EGBA’s secretary general Maarten Haijer, however, said amid the growth trend of Europe’s online betting market, there were still some countries lagging behind, with significant room for development. Haijer highlighted France, Germany, Italy, and Spain as countries “where the online share of the total gambling market is still relatively low despite the online markets in these countries being relatively mature.”
Haijer also added a cautionary note about the rise of online. The EGBA executive said the growth of this sector came with the added responsibility of ensuring the “online market is well-regulated and operators continue to utilise the latest online technologies to promote a stronger culture of safer gambling.”