‘EGBA 2020 European Gambling Revenue Reports 7% Online Rise!’ (image source: pixabay.com)
Despite the closure of live sports bringing online betting sites to their knees, new figures from the EGBA expects a 7% rise in Europe’s 2020s online gambling figures compared to 2019.
Even though these figures are bright, the overall casino industry across Europe is predicted to fall because of the hard-hit land-based casino scene. Europe’s total gambling revenue hit a record €98.6 billion last year, but the bigwigs at the EGBA say the figures for 2020 could be as low as €75.9 billon, which is a huge 23% decline. Albeit the retraction in revenue comes as no surprise, as sports betting was limited and land-based casinos across Europe closed for months.
Of the €75.9 billion expected for 2020, just €49.6 billion will come from land-based casinos and retail betting shops which is a huge drop from last year’s €74.1 billion. The decline in land-based casino and retail betting creates a huge 37% drop within this sector, and so it becomes the principal contributor to the overall 23% decline in overall European gambling revenues when including online gambling.
Online casinos & sports betting prop up European gambling!
Online gambling made up for €24.5 billion of 2019’s €98.6 billion revenue, while 2020’s expected €75.9 billion should see online gambling contribute €26.3 billion.
That means even with online sports betting on its back for the better part of the year, online gambling is still expected to rise 7% by the end of the year. For the EGBA to predict a 7% rise according to financial trends made available over Q1 to Q3 of 2020, these numbers show just how impressively resilient the online gambling industry is in Europe.
We should also consider that on top of sports betting interruptions, the partial closure of the German market where 19% of the country’s total revenue comes from online gambling. Minus German regulatory changes and sports betting disruptions, and the rise could have potentially been double this figure!
Of course, it was the online casinos that kept the online gambling industry propped up when sports betting was widely unavailable. For now, we will need to wait until the official 2020 European gambling revenue is released sometime in 2021 to understand the situation further. That said, we fully expect a shift from sports betting to casino, poker, bingo, and lottery. However, any gains made in online casino revenue is likely to be short-lived if live sports continue unhindered throughout 2021.
Casinos online could contribute over 34%
Online casinos took 34% (€8.3 billion) of the €24.5 billion in online gambling revenue across Europe last year. Meanwhile, sports betting took in 41% (€10.0 billion). Lottery (15%) Poker (5%), Bingo (4%), and Other/Skill Gaming (1%) contributed to the industry’s remaining €6.2 billion.
Once we have the official 2020 figures, online casinos should rise to roughly 45% as sports betting fans moved their balances to online casino gaming due to the lack of sports betting. Overall, online gambling in 2020 is expected to rise to €26.3 billion and online casinos could make up for at least €11 billion (45%) of that figure.
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