The gambling industry is one of the most influential sides of the global economy. People spend unbelievable sums of money both online and offline way while playing games. Global gambling news is always full of updates on games, products, and new operators in the market. But how’s the cycle of games distribution going?
For many years, a lot of countries have been interested to involve the gambling industry in the economy. According to the current cases, gambling increases the level of annual income to the budget and tourism. But on the other hand, there are more responsibilities on the government, operators, providers, and gamblers as well.
This type of entertainment splits into two verticals: online and offline. Land-based casinos have always been popular among customers, especially for their unique atmosphere, but for the last few years, online gambling has grown in many aspects.
Advantages of online gambling:
- multichannel;
- easy accessibility;
- a large variety of choices.
According to global statistics, 26% of the population is active in gambling. It’s 1.6 million people in the whole world gamble. The UK has also researched that 17% of the population gamble online, which gives an income of £5.3 billion thanks to online only.
According to the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), the online gambling GGR of 2022 will probably reach €29.3 billion. For comparison, the online gambling market of Europe of 2018 was ranked at €22.2 billion, and 2017 – at €20 billion.
The total gross gaming revenue of online products in the EU is €73.5 billion, which is 76.8% of the European gambling market.
The structure of the Internet gaming industry
It can be said without any doubt that online high-technological commercial global gambling has almost taken all the attention of gamblers. It’s easier to use and be entertained without even leaving a home place. Cyberspace is full of opportunities for people with opposite tastes and from different countries. And it’s also important to understand how this large Internet gaming market works.
The initial stage of online gambling makes the development dynamic and fast, while the agiotage is still active. The market has already become global and competitive, but there’s still no exact definition of the place in the gambling industry.
The guarantee of absolute control and freedom of choice are the main factors of the fast and impetuous growth among the public. It’s private and immediate, a personal control in-game selection, speed, and other information are in the hands of the users. There’s no obvious dependence for gamblers at all.
Online gambling products are based on:
- global communications network;
- software;
- server hardware;
- security system;
- private transactions;
- online cash.
According to the Global Market Analysis of Casino Gaming on the Internet by Lawrence Dandurand, the most popular locations for online gaming companies are Antigua & Barbuda, the Cook Islands, Curacao, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, etc. The majority of the casino sites are dedicated to the betting industry and some of them – to classic games.
Biggest gamblers around the world
Despite the active development of the gambling industry in such locations as Macau, not all of the countries are ready to accept and provide the type of entertainment like gambling. Below you can find the top-5 places, where gambling is the basic way to spend time in a safe way.
Macau
Macau and Hong Kong are the only cities in China where gambling is legal. China’s massive globalization was the main reason to make gambling legal there. The fast-growing economy of the country lets foreign casinos open more opportunities.
Macau also became a special administrative region because of gambling. The Chinese government understood the economic significance of the island, that’s why Macau got special status.
However, such gambling growth hasn’t led to Internet gaming legislation. The law from 2001 says that all forms of online gambling in Macau aren’t allowed for playing.
USA
According to the American Gaming Association report, the second quarter of 2021 became more than just successful for US gambling. The income of this term has reached $13.6 billion. These data are more than the data of the third quarter of 2019 by 22% when the revenue was $11.1 billion. 22 of 25 gambling states overtook even pre-pandemic income data for the second quarter of 2021.
The income from iGaming activity, which is legal just in 6 states, has also increased by 15% since the first quarter of 2021. It has reached $901 million. But the profit data for the first quarter of 2021 was not less impressive. The first part of 2021 brought $1.66 billion of iGaming revenue (more than the total income of $1.55 billion in 2020).
UK
The regulation established in the UK is called the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC), under which are both online and offline gambling activities, except sports betting.
The foundation for establishing the UKGC was the Gambling Licensing and Advertising Act of 2005. But in 2021 the government decided to refresh this act and adapt it to the current conditions of the different gambling markets and the global industry.
Since 2005 the UK gambling market has defiantly changed and partly transferred to the online space. There was more attention to safe gambling activity via increasing the fines and restrictions for the marketing and other leverages.
After the announced changes in the legislation sector, the regulation body was under criticism from the operators.
However, there’s no exact information about the content of the updated law, but the main issue will be a level of gambling addiction among citizens of the UK. The government will pay more attention to guaranteed protected gambling.
Australia
The most interesting facts about the Australian gambling market:
- during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of online gamblers increased to 78%;
- the average sum of one gambler loss is $1 260 per year;
- the total number of gaming machines in Australia is 200 000.
The gambling market in Australia is one of the most profitable in the world. The general annual income is $5 billion. And the target audience for the operators is tourists. All states of the country offer gambling as legal entertainment.
Canada
Canada is a country, which consists of 10 provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, British Colombia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Each of them has its own legislation system, administrative establishment, etc.
The most popular products in the country are charitable and online gambling. In this way, non-profit organizations like churches get a donation and players are being entertained.
Casinos are popular establishments to have a great time as well, especially in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia. Sports betting is available in each province. However, the set restrictions aren’t really liked by the players. Find what are the most popular sports in the world to bet on in this article.
Canada is an example of a regulation system, which helps to be within the boundaries and feel free at the same time. Operators and gamblers aren’t restricted much, but controlled, which makes the market safe and profitable.
The size of the online world gambling market from 2019 to 2023 in US dollars:
| Year | Size of online gambling (in billion US dollars) |
| 2019 | 58.9 |
| 2020 | 66.7 |
| 2023 | 92.9 |
Top casino software providers
As it was mentioned above, gambling in the online space has grown and developed because of so many reasons. It’s become an irreplaceable part of the global entertainment industry. Within the industry development, the providers were growing as well. Their offers in games and casino products became more high-qualified, which transferred the industry to a more competitive level. The interface has become better and the software differs a lot from the initial products.
There’re 4 formats of casino software:
- download software;
- instant play software;
- mobile software;
- live casino software.
Below you can find more information about casino software providers and read about this side of the industry.
Real Time Gaming (RTG)
One of the most experienced companies showed up in the industry in 1988. At that time, RTG was located in the American state of Georgia, but lately, it was relocated to Costa Rica, which is the current place of the main office.
The main advantage of the RTG software provider is configurable options, which let the casino operators set their own games at any time. At the same time, players have the ability to play their favorite games and try new options, payouts, rules, etc.
Popular RTG games:
- Aztec’s Treasure;
- Diamond Mine;
- Incan Goddess;
- Star Wars;
- Christmas slots;
- etc.
Playtech
The software provider has earned the trust and confidence of both users and operators through its high-qualified work and versatility in creating the products. Playtech operates the iPoker network, one of the most successful and popular platforms for the best poker games. The slots collection is also a power side, which has made Playtech one of the most reputable providers.
The main advantage of Playtech is the graphics. If the operator needs a high-quality product with unrepeatable graphics in a short term, the right one for that is Playtech.
Popular Playtech games:
- Age of the Gods;
- Green Lantern;
- Buffalo Blitz;
- Gladiator;
- etc.
Microgaming
The path of Microgaming started at the same time as online gambling started developing. For 25 years of working in the industry, the provider has created a large number of games and earned undoubted trust in the whole world.
Popular Microgaming games:
- Lucky Leprechaun;
- Mermaids Millions;
- Gold Factory;
- Avalon;
- Tomb Raider;
- etc.
Net Entertainment (NetEnt)
Since 1996 the company has been working in the industry of online gambling and providing games for operators from all over the world. NetEnt has serviced 170 online casinos, and this number does nothing but growing and developing. The games collection consists of more than 200 games, which are loved by gamblers and profitable for the operators.
The mobile-friendly option makes NetEnt one of the most demanded software providers of all time.
Popular games by Net Entertainment:
- Mega Fortune;
- Planet of the Apes;
- Secrets of Atlantis;
- Aloha! Cluster Pays;
- Dracula;
- etc.
International Gaming Technology (IGT)
Formed in 1971 the company started its path by supplying gaming machines to land-based establishments. And lately, the provider created its own tools for player management and started providing online operators.
The International Gaming Technology software provider is the definition of the multichannel wat to work. Despite the fact that the land-based casinos were the targeted customers, the company couldn’t close its eyes to the impetuous development of the online gambling market. They went out of their boundaries and started trying new ways of casino software solutions.
Popular games by IGT:
- Oceans of Gold;
- Golden Eagle;
- Gold and Dragon;
- etc.
Most popular gambling games
According to the gambling statistics, the most popular online gambling games around the world are:
- sports betting;
- slot machines;
- blackjack;
- lottery;
- bingo;
- video poker.
Below there’s a list of the best products of each category of gambling games.
| № | Games | Products |
| 1 | Slots | Starburst;Scudamore’s Super Stakes;Gonzo’s Quest;Twin Spin;Vikings. |
| 2 | Blackjack | American blackjack;European blackjack;Vegas Strip blackjack;Blackjack Switch;blackjack Perfect Pairs. |
| 3 | Lottery | California state lottery;China welfare lottery;El Gordo;Euro millions;Eurojackpot. |
| 4 | Bingo | Bingo Gem Rush;Super Bingo HD;Bingo Blitz;Lucky Bingo;Bingo Heaven. |
| 5 | Video poker | Jacks or Better;Deuces Wild;Aces and Faces;Joker Poker;Bonus Poker. |
2025 is expected to be profitable, so the global gambling industry is able to reach $674 billion.
The gambling experts also expect the player to change. Presumably, the gambling habits of the users will drive the demand for the industry. The worldwide commercial casino market reached $711.4 billion by the end of 2020. And if the level of growth is stable, the industry can earn $876 billion in 2026.
If we’re talking about the locations, the gambling markets of the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia-Pacific regions will have 3.7% of the CAGR for the casino segment. In 2020, only these markets earned $116.3 billion. Asia-Pacific and China are expected to be the most promising and fast-growing markets. By the end of 2026, the total increase of these regions will be $34.5 billion.
The main role in the global economy process will be played by devices, online space, and more digital features. This is the future of gambling, to find the right way of combining different vectors. It will help to keep profit growing and not to lose the economy increase.
Read more: Top Gambling Affiliate Programs
