Online gambling and betting market

Global Online Gambling and Betting Market

Online gambling and betting includes operators providing gambling and betting games such as poker, casino, lottery, bingo, and sports betting via digital platform. Fantasy league gaming platforms such as NFL Enterprises LLC, CBS Interactive, Fleaflicker, and Sideline Software, Inc. league offer a service for online betting on sports such as cricket, football, and horse riding.

Global online gambling and betting market is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period (2018–2026). The market growth is majorly attributed to increasing population and increasing use of internet across the globe. Moreover, many countries such as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Singapore, and Ghana are relaxing the laws and regulations for online gambling and betting. For instance, China allows betting only on approved sites and the Chinese Sports Lottery has the monopoly on all sports betting, in Japan, online betting for lottery, public sports, and football are allowed, and in Singapore, gambling is legalized but highly regulated.

Increasing internet penetration is expected to drive the market growth

Online gambling and betting market is expected to witness considerable growth during the forecast period, as online gambling platforms provide high level of accessibility to the user for gambling or betting at any time and at any place. Moreover, through mobile applications, large wagers can give offers and continuously update on betting rate.

According to Our World in Data, estimated number of internet users worldwide reached 3.4 billion in 2016. Increasing number of internet users is one of the major factors driving growth of the market, as an internet gambler can get access to vast number of betting options from providers’ website or gaming applications. Some of the countries in Asia Pacific such as India, China, and Indonesia have huge number of internet users.

Increasing use of virtual currencies is expected to boost growth of the online gambling and betting market

In the past few years, virtual currency and cryptocurrency have gained popularity. Currently, many gaming operators offer a variety of payment options such as visa casinos, check online casinos, neteller online casinos, and paypal casinos, however, virtual currency is mostly preferred among online casinos. Speedy deposit or withdrawal of money for online gambling is preferred by consumers. Bitcoin has become a popular payment method in online gambling, with some online casinos already accepting it as a standard payment method. According to a report published by “bitcoin.com” in January 2019, over 24.5 billion bets have been placed with bitcoins over the past 2 years.

Figure 1. Global Online Gambling and Betting Market Share, by Device Type (2017, %)

Source: Coherent Market Insights, 2017-18

Increasing use of mobile devices is expected to drive the market growth

According to a report published by Pew Research Center in February 2018, 77% of the adults in the U.S. are using smartphone and in 2011, this number was only 35%, as mobile phones offer features such as internet access, gaming applications, and social media. Gaming providers are offering easy to operate mobile applications for gambling with easy to transfer payment options.  

Figure 2. Global Online Gambling and Betting Market Share, by Region (2017, %)

Source: Coherent Market Insights, 2017-18

Asia pacific region is expected to witness a considerable growth rate over the forecast period

The online gambling and betting market in Asia Pacific region is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14% over the forecast period. Relaxation of laws, rising number of internet users, and availability of gambling and betting websites with attractive offers are factors driving growth of the online gambling and betting market in Asia Pacific region. Moreover, increasing use of internet-based devices and increasing trust on payment options are propelling growth of the online gambling and betting market across the region.

Key players operating in the global online gambling and betting industry include 888 Holdings, GVC Holdings, Kindred Group, Paddy Power, Betfair, William Hill, Bet365, Stars Group, Draft Kings, Betsson, and BetAmerica.