European online gambling market grows 11% in 2018

Sports betting was the most popular online gambling activity, representing 43% of the total EU market share with revenue of €9.4bn.

This was followed by casino games at 32%, lottery at 13%, poker at 5%, bingo at 4% and other games at 3%.

A total of 57% of online bets were placed from a desktop computer, while 43% were placed on phones and tablets – up 39% from 2017.

The UK market accounted for the largest portion of total EU GGR, with a market value of €7.3bn.

Offline gambling generated GGR of €73.5bn, accounting for 77% of the overall EU gambling market.

The total EU gambling market value was €95.7bn.

Maarten Haijer, Secretary General of the EGBA, said: “Europe’s online gambling market continues to show strong demand-driven growth and a switch to mobile devices.

“But its increased popularity reinforces the need for more consistent and strong consumer protections and industry standards across all EU countries.

“The current situation of diverging and sometimes conflicting regulations in EU countries is detrimental to consumers, authorities and operators alike.”

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Owain Flanders

Journalist

Owain Flanders is a journalist who spent over a year with Gambling Insider, first joining as an Editorial Intern in August 2019 before progressing to Staff Writer from November 2019 to December 2020. During his tenure, he covered a wide range of developments across the global gambling and iGaming sectors, producing original news stories, in-depth features and analytical pieces for the Gambling Insider website and its bi-monthly magazine.

Owain interviewed CEOs, analysts and senior marketing executives on emerging trends, regulatory issues and commercial strategy, bringing authoritative insight to a professional B2B audience.

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