In 2020, online gambling is more popular than ever before and is set to continue to grow at a record rate in Europe. Statistics show that more of us are using online platforms to gamble than ever, as the ease of access for consumers continues to catapult gambling profits into the stratosphere. The numbers suggest that the industry will continue to grow faster than ever before in the coming years. The question is, how did it happen?
How online gambling exploded in popularity
The development of technology has eradicated the need to leave the house in order to gamble, and this ease of access has been a gamechanger for the profits of the gambling industry. Gone are the days when a gambler would have to visit a casino to place a bet on sports or a casino game. Now, it only takes a tap on a smartphone or a click on a laptop to place a bet.
The options available to gamblers in the present day are also more plentiful than ever. Traditional casino games like poker, blackjack and roulette are available on most betting websites, and sports betting on football and other games is very profitable. Many iGaming websites, such as https://games.paddypower.com/c/jackpot-king, now have a wide range of arcade-style, themed video slots, which have attracted the attention of a host of consumers that might never have considered gambling previously.
No signs of slowing down
According to European Gaming and Betting Association data available at https://www.egba.eu/eu-market/#:~:text=The%20EU%20online%20gambling%20market,%E2%82%AC29.3%20billion%20in%202022., the EU online gambling market is expected to rise from €22.2 billion in 2018 to €29.3 billion in 2022. That market is growing by 10% every single year and is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. In fact, in 2018 the EU held a 49.2% share of the overall global online gambling market. This means that almost half of the money spent gambling online across the whole planet was in EU states. Europe has rapidly established itself as the biggest online gambling hub in the world, taking advantage of the regulations in place in some states in the USA.
The power of sports betting
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Casino games and arcade-style games are very popular at the moment, but sports betting has been the real money-maker for major betting companies recently. Football is perhaps the most important cultural phenomenon on the planet, with Croatia's Football Federation website offering fans a wealth of information at https://hns-cff.hr/en/, and many fans have taken to betting on games to further the excitement. Sports betting reportedly accounts for as much as 42.5% of gross gaming revenue, dwarfing the worth of casino games (32.4%) and poker (5%). Football’s influence is here to stay, and sports like tennis and boxing are also the subject of thousands of bets every day.
Conclusion
Online gambling has taken hold in Europe like nowhere else and is rapidly becoming one of the fastest-growing industries around. It is now so easy to bet that many consumers that historically might not have considered gambling are getting involved. With sports betting and online casinos both becoming more and more profitable, it is easy to see how online gambling has become such a huge deal in recent years.
