Europe’s gambling revenues will increase 7.5% in 2021, but down significantly on pre-pandemic levels – new data

22.12.2021

Europe’s total gambling market revenue will increase by 7.5% in 2021, driven by 19% growth in the online market. But total gambling market revenue is down by 13% compared to 2019, as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to restrict land-based gambling activity.

Brussels, Today – Europe’s total gambling revenue will increase by 7.5% this year to €87.2bn gross gaming revenue (GGR)[1]  – but total gambling market revenue is down by 13% compared to 2019 levels, as Europe’s land-based gambling sector continues to feel the impact of COVID-19 restrictions, according to an end-of-year data report published by the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) in partnership with H2 Gambling Capital.

The report, covering EU-27 and UK markets, includes data about Europe’s gambling market revenues, regulated market shares, popular online gambling products, and various information about national gambling markets, as well as a dedicated section which presents data from EGBA members, including information about their revenues, customers and licenses in Europe.

The report forecasts Europe’s online gambling revenue to increase by 19% this year, to €36.4bn GGR, but it will not compensate for the recent declines in Europe’s land-based gambling activity. While Europe’s land-based gambling revenue is expected to increase by 0.4% this year, to €50.8bn GGR, land-based revenue is down significantly by 32% compared to 2019 levels, due to the Covid-19 pandemic-related restrictions on land-based gambling activity in many European countries.

Growth in online continues, with mobile betting taking over
The growth in Europe’s online gambling market is expected to continue and be accelerated by the pandemic, with online GGR expected to grow approximately 9% yearly and reach 41% of Europe’s total gambling revenue by 2026, up from a 26% share in 2019. Another trend expected to continue is the increasing use of mobile devices (phones and tablets) for online gambling, with the share of bets from mobile devices this year set to account for the majority (50.5%) of Europe’s online bets for the first time, and expected to reach 61.5% of all online bets by 2026.

EGBA members now account for 36% of Europe’s online gambling revenue
In addition to overall market data, EGBA has also published aggregated data from its member companies – bet365, Betsson Group, Entain, Flutter, Kindred Group, and William Hill – in relation to their operations in the EU-27 and UK online gambling markets in 2020.

“The growth trend of Europe’s online gambling market continues but there remains significant room for online development in markets, such as France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, where the online share of the total gambling market is still relatively low despite the online markets in these countries being relatively mature. With continued online growth also comes the responsibility to ensure the online market is well-regulated and operators continue to utilize the latest online technologies to promote a stronger culture of safer gambling.” – Maarten Haijer, Secretary General, EGBA. 

EGBA MEMBERS DATA (2020)[2]

Revenue

• Combined €10.9bn in online gambling GGR, representing 36% of Europe’s total online gambling revenue.
• Sports betting accounted for 45.9% of GGR, followed by casino on 42%.

Customers

• A total of 29 million online customers.
• Processed 97.1 billion customer bets/stakes (including bonuses), with a combined value of €179bn.
• Returned €168.1bn in winnings to customers, with an average return to player rate of 94.0%.

Sports betting

• The share of in-play betting has declined, and pre-match betting now accounts for 54% of sports betting GGR.

Licensing

• A total of 234 online gambling licenses across 19 European countries, with licenses now in Czech Republic and Portugal.

[1] Gross Gaming revenue (GGR) is the amount of money collected from gambling transactions (the value of customer stakes) minus the amount of money that has been paid out to customers for winning (customer winnings).

[2] EU-27 and UK online gambling markets only.

–  ENDS –