EGBA Figures Project EU Market to Approach $30b within Three Years

New EU iGaming revenue projections have baked an awfully sweet pie, with a market recipe of €29.3bn by 2022.

Fruitful Revenue Totals

The first hints of sweetness are European Gaming and Betting Association EGBA 2018 totals revealing operators across the EU took in €22.2bn (£18.7bn/$24.6bn) in online gaming revenue.

The Online Gaming Take

Internet gaming accounted for 23.2% of total gambling revenue for the 28 EU Member States in 2018, and 49.2% of the global iGaming market, with land-based gambling generating €73.5bn in EU.

The EGBA expects total EU online gaming revenue to increase pungently to €24.5bn in 2019; €25.7bn in 2020, and €27.4bn in 2021.

Vertical Breakdowns

The most popular vertical was sports betting, whose market share of 42.5% led casino including slots (32.4%); lottery (12.6%); poker (5%); bingo (4.3%) and other skill games at 3.2%.

Total Activity

A total of 31.6bn bets were placed by 16.5m players in 2018, including 320m online payments consisting of player deposits and withdrawals.

PC Still Favored

The PC was the favored terminal for online EU gamblers, at 57% of online wagers versus 43% via mobile, with mobile expected to overtake desktop by 2021.

Performance by Market

UK yielded the highest among EU members, with a market share of 34.2% to outpace Germany's 11.1%; France's 8.8%; Italy's 8.1% and Sweden's 5.2%.

Operator Expenditures

Gambling operators contributed €86m in sports sponsorships to European sports federations, leagues, clubs and events in 2018, while paying over €132m in rights to website streaming.

Job Creation

The EU's iGaming sector flowed some 32,000 jobs to people in 27 total companies, with all four official EU languages represented within the sector.

Compliance

EGBA compliance data stated that 121 licences were held in 20 EU countries offering online gambling, while 52 licencing and 23 anti-money laundering audits were conducted.

Outlook

The statistical reflection of the move towards establishing a standardised regulatory framework across the EU represents the sweetest taste of all, with nearly €6bn in annual savings for EU consumers and businesses.