EGBA numbers show that European sports betting and gambling are higher than they were before the pandemic.
EGBA numbers show that European sports betting and gambling are higher than they were before the pandemic.
The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) and H2 Gambling Capital compiled 2022 gambling data. The industry is up 8% after COVID-19 halted expansion.
Flags from countries in the European Union fly outside of the European Parliament. The number of people gambling in the European Union kept going up until 2022. (Image: Shutterstock)
Because of COVID-19’s effect on the gaming industry, metrics now often compare one period to another in 2019. The last few years have seen big drops, and some places are still trying to get back on track in 2022.
Even though a new coronavirus threat is on the horizon, the gaming industry is probably going to handle it better this time. Some places are starting to put limits on travel, but it’s not likely that everything will shut down this time.
In its European Online Gambling Key Figures 2022 Edition report, the EGBA said that the gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the European gaming industry in 2022 would be 23% higher than in 2021. The total was €108.5 billion (US$115.68 billion), but it’s better than 2019 by 8%, which is more important than the growth from 2018 to 2019.
The growth from year to year can be explained by the fact that land-based gambling and sports betting are back in Europe. In 2021, there were still a few small closed areas in places where COVID-19 was harder to get rid of.
Last year, both the land-based gaming market and the online gaming market grew. The land-based segment grew the most from 2021 to 2022, increasing by 34% and bringing in €70.3 billion (US$74.95 billion) in GGR.
But it didn’t work as well as it did before the pandemic. Last year, the land-based segment lost 6% compared to 2019.
On the other hand, the online part keeps getting better. Last year, it was worth €38.2 billion (US$40.72 billion), which was 8% more than the year before. Graphical Research, a website with statistics and data, says that the total was around €23.44 billion (about $25 billion) in 2019.
The World Cup was a huge boost for the sports betting market. Even though the final numbers aren’t in yet, it’s likely that 2023 won’t be as successful because there won’t be as many big sports events.
The EGBA is a group that supports and advocates for Europe’s licensed and regulated gaming industry. Its members include Flutter, Betsson Group, Kindred Group and others in 21 countries across the region. Together, they have 225 licenses to offer online gambling.
Last year, these members contributed €11.6 billion ($10.88 billion) to the total online GGR, which is 33% of the whole segment. 39% of the money went to online casinos, while 35% went to sports betting.
The rest came from poker, bingo, the lottery, and “other.” Out of those, the clear winner was the lottery, which controlled 18%. Poker had 4% and bingo had 3%.
According to research done by the EGBA, there were 29.8 million online gamers in Europe last year. Members of the EGBA took care of these people’s 111.6 billion bets and gave them back €191.3 billion (US$179.42 billion) in winnings out of the €202.9 billion (US$190.3 billion) they spent.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that more people are playing games online because more people are using mobile devices. In 2019, smart phones and tablets were used for 46% of all online games, while desktop computers were used for the rest. This split changed to 51% and 49% in 2021, and 53% and 47% is what is expected for 2022.