Published yesterday (24 March), “European Gambling Market – Key Figures 2025 Edition” covers all European Union member states, plus the UK. It includes analysis of provisional data for both the online and land-based gambling markets during 2024.
Online drives gambling revenue growth
Growth was evident across online and land-based gambling activities, but the former saw the steepest increase in GGR. In total, provisional online GGR climbed 11.7% year-on-year to €47.9 billion, or 39% of total GGR for the year.
Gaming accounted for €24.6 billion of this figure, with €23.2 billion attributed to casino-type games, including slots. In total, online casino games drew 45% of all internet gambling GGR during 2024.
Online betting revenue topped €16.2 billion, of which €13.7 billion – 29% of all online GGR – came from sports and events betting. Internet lottery accounted for the remaining €7.1 billion in online GGR.
As to how people were playing, 58% of online GGR was drawn from gambling on mobile and 42% desktop.
Land-based revenue edges up 1.3%
Turning to the land-based market, revenue here increased 1.3% to €75.5 billion. This shows that despite the ongoing explosion of online gambling, land-based remains the main source (61%) of GGR in Europe.
Gaming was also the most popular form of land-based activity, but not to the same extent as in the online market. Land-based gaming GGR hit €35 billion, which is slightly lower than the previous year. Gaming machines accounted for €24.9 billion of this, with casinos at €8.5 billion and bingo €1.6 billion.
However, as a single activity, lottery led the way with €30.9 billion in GGR, or 41% of all land-based revenue. Incidentally, gaming machines were second on 33%, then casino at 11%.
Betting also generated €9.6 billion, with this split €6.4 billion for sports and events betting and €3.2 billion horse racing.
“Distinct” differences in product types
These breakdowns, EGBA and H2 say, show “distinct” differences in product types across the online and land-based markets.
While lottery was the leader in land-based gambling, it ranked only third in the online sector. However, when it came to casino, it was far and away the most popular form of gambling online, whereas it placed third in the land-based segment.
Sport and events betting was also far more popular online than in retail. However, betting on racing was more popular at physical betting shops than over the internet.
Bingo was split evenly across the two markets, whereas poker was solely online and gaming machines land-based only.
UK leads the way in online gambling
Breaking down the figure geographically, the UK is the leader in terms of total GGR. The report presented the performance of European markets in 2023, as 2024 figures are provisional and still subject to change.
During 2023, the UK drew €30.8 billion in GGR. Italy followed with €25.5 billion, then France on €17.8 billion and Germany with €17.7 billion.
The UK also led the way by some distance in terms of online gambling. GGR for this segment during 2023 topped €11.1 billion in the UK, with Italy the closest challenger on €4.6 billion, ahead of France with €3.8 billion.
As for land-based performance, Italy just pipped the UK to post the most revenue in 2023. Germany and France were almost neck-and-neck for third place, with Spain coming in fifth.
In terms of product type, the new report features a breakdown of online gambling across all featured nations. Casino games dominate in several countries, accounting for over 60% of all online revenue in Malta, Estonia and Latvia.
“The relative strength of betting and casino products is heavily influenced by local regulatory frameworks and player preferences,” the report notes.
Where is the European gambling market heading?
Looking ahead, the report maps out forecasts for 2025 through to 2029.
Europe’s market is expected to grow 3.5% year-on-year to €127.7 billion in 2025. This will likely be driven by a rise in online gambling GGR to €51.1 billion, meaning it will account for 40% of the whole market for the first time. Land-based gambling is also expected to see a modest increase.
Looking further ahead, based on similar growth patterns, GGR for the entire market could hit €149.2 billion by 2029. Online revenue is set to represent 45% of all GGR by this point, with land-based share slipping to 55%.
Gaming will likely be the main reason for growth in online gambling, with GGR set to reach €22 billion by 2029. Betting GGR is forecast to hit €34.5 billon and lottery €10.4 billion.
As for land-based activity, gaming will also lead the way and potentially reach €38.3 billion by the same point. Lottery is expected to amount to €33.5 billion and betting €10.5 billion.
“Europe’s gambling market showed steady growth in 2024,” EGBA secretary general Maarten Haijer said. “While land-based gambling remains dominant and continues to grow in absolute terms, online channels are showing stronger momentum, driven by changing consumer preferences and technological advancement.
“Looking ahead to 2025, we expect online gambling to cross the significant 40% market share milestone, with this trend projected to continue in the coming years as online gambling is expected to approach parity with land-based gambling by 2029.”
