iGaming Revenues Across the World – Where Does the UK Rank?

Posted by Harry Kane on Tuesday, May 21, 2024

The global online gambling market continues to grow globally, with the coronavirus pandemic now viewed as little more than a minor setback to the industry. Certainly, this has done little to stifle demand in any iGaming vertical, while rising accessibility and a tax exemption on certain winnings have also boosted the sector in the UK.

To this end, the UK has emerged as the second most generative iGaming market in 2024. It’s also the most lucrative national market in the whole of Europe, ahead of fast-growing entities such as Spain and Italy. But what exactly do the numbers tell us, and what separates the UK from many of its national competitors?

Where Does the UK Rank in the Global iGaming Space?

Before we get to the UK’s numbers and analyse them in more detail, it’s important to address the single biggest iGaming market in the world. This is the US, which has continued to grow at an incredible rate since sports betting was legalised at federal level by the Supreme Court in May 2018.

Currently, 38 states and the District of Colombia have now legalised sports betting, with wagering volumes in these jurisdictions generating approximately £18.41 billion in revenue last year. The market leader here is New Jersey, which produced an impressive gross gaming yield (GGY) of £442.9 million in January alone, with this up 7.1% when compared to December’s figures.

The UK trails a distant second to the North American market, generating £11.01 billion during the same reporting period. This reaffirms the UK as a genuine trailblazer in the global market, and a major European player that produces a significant amount of gambling revenue per capita.

Assessing the Popularity of Gambling in the UK

Of course, online gambling in the UK has faced significant scrutiny of late, with the iGaming review proposing a £2 slot betting limit. There is also the prospect of affordability checks being introduced by the regulator, but notwithstanding this, the UK market is expected to grow by a relatively impressive 7.4% by the end of 2024.

But why is gambling so popular and the market so resilient on these shores? According to YouGov’s Global Gambling Profiles data, some 49% of UK gamblers online spend more than £5 on fantasy sports wagers each month alone, and the diversity of betting options available in the UK is certainly appealing to punters.

In the case of sports betting, football and horse racing wagers account for approximately 50% of the UK marketplace. However, less renowned sports such as cricket, tennis, boxing, rugby and golf encourage gamblers to spend in excess of £200 per month, creating a vibrant and exciting market that attracts a high volume of punters.

Outside of sports betting, 25% of all online gamblers wager regularly on virtual and video slots. A further 17% bet frequently on casino games (like online blackjack, roulette and baccarat), while a surprisingly high 18% opted for bingo. Across these verticals, gamblers in the UK bet £5 and more per month on average.

Then there’s the lottery, which is universally popular and the single most bet on vertical both on and offline. According to Lottoland UK, it’s estimated that in excess of 70% of adults on these shores participate in the National Lottery on a weekly basis, with this equating to a total number of around 45 million people.

OK – But is the UK the Second Fastest-Growing Market in the World

There’s no doubt that the UK is the most mature online betting marketplace, and one that only trails the US in terms of value. It will have also posted an impressive growth rate of 7.4% by the end of 2024, with 27.9% of gamblers confirming that they wagered regularly online during the previous 12 months.

OK, we hear you ask, but is the UK the fastest-growing market in the world? The short answer is no, and it’s interesting to note that the UK’s projected growth rate is just 3.84% per annum between now and 2028. Although this is largely to be expected for a mature and established marketplace, it’s significantly lower than many of its competing nations.

For example, the US will see its online revenue grow by a staggering 20.3% during the same period, as more states legalise sports betting and more iGaming bills are also passed by legislators. This is more than six-times the UK’s forecasted growth rate, so it’s going to extend its lead at the top of the global revenue chart.

Australia ranks third on the list of global iGaming revenues, with £8.11 billion generated during the previous 12 months. This market is also poised to experience double-digit growth in the next four years (10.5%), so it’s also expanding at a faster rate than the UK. Logically, it may therefore exceed the UK in the coming decade, especially if the Australian market opens additional and licenses more betting sites.

The most recent annual growth rate for Australia was 5.12%, so it actually expanded at a slower pace than the UK in 2023. This trend won’t continue for the foreseeable future, while the markets in Spain and Italy are also poised to grow at a marginally higher rate than the UK.

Of course, the relatively small size of the UK contributes to limited market growth, as there’s only a finite number of adults who can wager legally on these shores. Also, the UK has a slighter lower participation rate per capita than the US and Australia, while punters in Ireland wager more per individual bettor than Britain. These facts will continue to impact on the UK market in the near and medium-term.