Online gaming growing almost twice as fast as land gambling

Online gambling and betting is a big and growing global business, with Euro 25 billion in gross win generated last year, claims a new study from consultants and gaming research specialist H2 Gambling Capital.

And growth in the international online gambling sector in 2012 outstripped that of the bricks and mortar industry, with online gross win up 7.2 percent vs. the land industry’s 3.1 percent.

Nevertheless, e-gaming still comprises just 8 percent of the total global gambling market, giving room for expansion, with H2 predicting it will command 11.1 percent of the international overall market by 2018.

Due to the legal constraints in the United States, and a more progressive and modern approach to the online gambling environment in Europe, interactive gambling has a penetration rate of 12.6 percent in Europe vs. 4.4 percent in North America (including Canada).

That gap will likely narrow in the future as US state-by-state legalisation gathers momentum.

Growth in the global online sector for 2013 is likely to reach 7.9 percent and continue growing at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 9.3 percent, reaching Euro 42.9 billion p.a. by 2018, H2 notes.

In terms of global market share in online gambling, Europe leads on 46 percent, followed by Asia-Pacific on 28 percent and North America on 17 percent. However, that will be subject to change as the United States market advances on the back of legalisation.

Researchers found that sports betting is the most popular sector with the online gambling sector, accounting for 46 percent of gross win in 2012, driven principally by mobile and in-play wagering.

Online casino action is a distant second at 17 percent, with live dealer activity giving added impetus, and online poker continues to decline at just 13 percent…again that could be beneficially impacted by US developments.

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