Markets with the biggest potential for growing gambling revenue in the coming years

By William Davis

|

Dec 15, 2021

Reading time: 4 min

Markets with the biggest potential in growing gambling revenue in upcoming years

Gambling revenue lets many countries fund local programs. The size of worldwide betting is expected to increase from $516 billion in 2021 to over $674 billion in 2025.

However, some markets are expected to grow faster than others.

We’re going to look at gambling around the world and examine some of the projections for specific countries and regions.

Gambling growth expectations by region

South Africa

Growth in South Africa’s market is booming, especially in the sports betting segment. Interestingly, the lack of sports betting in the region in 2020 led to a boom in gambling.

With the reintroduction of a regular schedule for many sports teams, it only makes sense that the industry will continue to grow in the coming years. Sports betting is slated to grow rapidly along with traditional gambling activities. Among the entire continent, South Africa maintains the largest gross gambling market share of all areas.

Asia-Pacific

The Asia-Pacific region has the largest revenues in the gambling industry, primarily due to two main regions:

  1. Macau
  2. Singapore

China’s massive population remains the main concern for the region’s growth. Chinese law makes gambling illegal for 1.4 billion people. If the market ever opens up to gambling, it has the potential to generate a ton of revenue.

Both countries have low deposit casinos and are home to 10 of the largest casinos on the planet.

Macau’s Galaxy Macau is the primary revenue driver in the country and is a mainstay for gamblers across Asia. In addition, Asia’s large population helps make it the world’s largest market.

The two countries make up the top 10 list of biggest casinos, beating out Las Vegas and even Australia. However, the Crown of Melbourne does bring in substantial revenue that pushes the region to the top in the world in terms of gambling revenue.

European Union

Europe offers extensive gambling options and the United Kingdom has a massive online gambling market. The region also accounts for some of the largest losses, by country, especially in:

  • Italy
  • United Kingdom
  • Germany
  • France
  • Spain
  • Ireland
  • Finland

The United Kingdom is a significant contributor to the growth of gambling in the region. Brits love the opportunity to gamble, and while Brexit did remove the UK from the EU, it is still included in the region’s performance.

Gambling in the UK skyrocketed by 32% in some weeks during 2018, and this figure continues to rise in 2021.

In Europe, as restrictions start to subside and life goes back to normal, it’s expected that there will be a boom in gambling. Players from across the world go to Europe to play at their grand casinos, and this will only become more true in the future.

Italy, for example, brings in over 18 billion euros in revenue from the gaming industry. Tourism picking back up in the EU and the UK creates the potential for the market to grow its revenue substantially in the coming years.

North America

North America has a lot of untapped potential that may be ready to explode. The rise of online gambling makes North America the fastest-growing in the world in terms of gambling growth.

New Jersey is the fastest-growing market in the United States and has the largest market share.

However, growth is also being seen in other countries in North America, such as:

  • Canada, which offers the option to gamble online, but the one main concern is that there are no regulations. The lack of licensing opens the doors for casino operators to enter the country without the proper systems in place. However, the country is seeing a rise in online gambling, helping fuel growth in North America.
  • Mexico, which has started to introduce gambling laws that will help regulate the online gambling sector. With this information in mind, the country will further help fuel North America’s gambling growth over the next few years.

The entire North American region has a lot of great potential to drive the gambling industry to new heights worldwide. However, there does remain a serious question mark to the market’s growth in the United States.

The United States and the potential for untapped growth

The United States is one of the markets with a lot of untapped potential, but different rules and regulations exist within each state. For example, online gambling in the United States is just starting to pick up steam.

Of the 50 states, only 32 allow online gambling in one form or another.

Large states, such as California, do not have laws in place that allow online gambling. In fact, casinos are not legal in the state outside tribal casinos. Tribal casinos are allowed to operate under the state’s constitution.

And when there are new regulations and bills proposed, casinos that have the authority to operate always oppose the introduction of competition. If the United States adopts a broader acceptance of gambling, both online and offline, it has the potential to grow exponentially in the country.

Factors to Consider in Overall Gambling Growth

The gambling industry has much potential for growth over the next few years, primarily because of pent-up demand from closures. As a result, a rise in revenues is likely before a market correction occurs over the next few years.

However, there are concerns about the global economic outlook over the next few years.

If the global economy’s growth is stunted, there is the potential that the market will not achieve its growth expectations. Liquidity is necessary for the gambling industry to thrive, and a lack of liquidity may mean fewer people playing at online and traditional casinos.

Gambling is expected to grow at a rate of 10% per year over the next few years. The countries above have the largest potential to solidify their market share and grow during this period. However, if the United States adopts broad gambling rules, it can increase its gambling revenue dramatically.

Recommended

mobile gaming

These are the Latest Trends in Mobile Gaming

The popularity of gaming continues to rise day by day, and as a result, developers are continually...

By William Davis

|

Apr 30, 2024