Europe’s Gambling Revenues Stabilised Above Pre-Pandemic Levels In 2022 – New Data

Europe’s gambling market revenue increased 23% this year, driven by the post-pandemic reopening of casinos and betting shops, with total revenue stabilising 8% above pre-pandemic levels.

Brussels, Belgium (December 30, 2022) — Europe’s gambling market revenue stabilised this year, 8% above pre-pandemic levels, following the reopening of land-based gambling venues, according to the annual end-of-year market data report published by the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) in partnership with H2 Gambling Capital.

According to the “European Online Gambling – Key Figures 2022” report, Europe’s gambling market revenue increased by 23% to €108,5bn gross gaming revenue (GGR)[1] in 2022, driven by a significant rebound in land-based gambling revenue following the reopening of casinos and betting shops. After the widespread shutdown of land-based gambling venues and subsequent declines in Europe’s gambling market revenue in 2020 and 2021, gambling market revenue stabilised this year at 8% above 2019’s pre-pandemic revenue levels.

Online growth continues, but land-based gambling rebounded significantly

The steady growth in online gambling revenue continued in 2022, reaching €38,2bn GGR, an increase of 8% compared to 2021. Meanwhile, land-based gambling revenue rebounded significantly to €70,3bn GGR this year, a growth of 34% compared to 2021 levels, but remained down 6% compared to 2019 revenues.

The annual report, covering the EU-27 and UK gambling markets, includes aggregated data and forecasts for Europe’s gambling market, online gambling products, and information about the different national gambling markets in Europe, as well as the latest customer and revenue data from EGBA member companies – bet365, Betsson Group, Entain, Flutter, Kindred Group, and William Hill.

“Europe’s gambling market began to stabilise this year following the unprecedented upheaval and disruption of the pandemic. While the steady upward trend of online gambling continues, land-based gambling is now rebounding from the widespread shutdowns of casinos and betting shops during the past two years. The World Cup provided an uplift for operators this year, with several unexpected match results being friendly to the bookmakers.” – Maarten Haijer, Secretary General, EGBA.

DATA FROM EGBA MEMBERS (2021)[2]

Revenue

• EGBA members had a combined €11,6bn in online gambling GGR, accounting for 33% of Europe’s total online gambling revenue that year.
• Sports betting accounted for 46% of online gambling GGR, followed by online casinos at 45%.

Customers

• A total of 29,8m online customers in Europe.
• Processed 111,6bn online bets or stakes (including bonuses) from customers, with a combined value of €202,9bn.
• Returned €191,3bn in customer winnings, with an average return to player rate of 94.3%.

Sports betting types

• The share of pre-match sports betting grew, with pre-match betting accounting for 66% of online sports betting GGR of EGBA members.

Licensing

• The combined total of 225 online gambling licenses across 21 European countries, with online licenses now in Croatia and the Netherlands.

[1] Gross Gaming revenue (GGR) is the amount of money wagered (the value of customer stakes) minus the amount of money paid out to customers in winnings (customer winnings).

[2] EU-27 and UK online gambling markets only.

SOURCE: European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA).