Numbers can be identified as a constant presence in the world of gambling. However, it is not only to calculate the odds of a sports event or the chances of a roulette game that they are useful. One year after the other, relevant information on revenue, evolution, and expenses is published.
We believe that everyone, from casinos to players, should get hold of that precious knowledge. That way, it is possible to identify if people are gambling responsibly and whether the industry is improving or not. As always, our team of specialists endeavors their best efforts to make sure everything is detailed in a simple manner.
Gambling Statistics for 2022 – Quick Overview
- Asia is the leading region in terms of revenue in gambling (31.3%).
- In 2020, predictions tell revenues should suffer greatly (minus US$ 80 billion) due to the pandemic.
- Total gambling revenue in 2019 reached.
- In percentage terms, Africa had the greatest growth in the past years.
- Sports betting represents the largest online gambling sector.
- The five top gambling markets are China, the USA, Japan, South Korea, and Germany.
- 2019 revenue levels may not be reached again before 2022.
- Great Britain achieved a total gross gambling yield of £14.3 billion in 2019.
- The online gambling market revenue currently totalizes US$53.7 billion, most of which is represented by sports betting.
General Gambling Stats & Facts
In order to better explain and show how the entire gambling industry is evolving, we created charts and graphics for your visualization. We are sure you are curious to understand how the data above looks like when illustrated.
🌎 Gambling Around the World
It is clear that there is a lot of people gambling from the three-digit billion figure. However, let us get familiarized with how the revenue is divided for both general and online gambling.
All the years with an “E” added to them represent that there is still not enough data to state the total gambling revenue. Keep in mind the losses from 2019 onwards represent the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Those with an (*) indicate that such values may never occur, as the 2019 levels may not recover before 2023.
It is also noteworthy that all information regarding estimation was not correct, even before the crisis. Mostly, institutions and consultancy companies would estimate 4-6% growth on a yearly basis. The fact is, they would mostly overestimate the increase in revenue, usually 3-4x lower than expected.
Even so, disregarding the pandemic impact, it is a fact that gambling is growing all around the world. If it were not for Covid-19, we could expect levels at least near US$500 billion by 2023.
Talking about estimates, 2019 was expected to generate US$ 43.2 billion for the online gambling sector. Our sources state that it managed to reach over US$ 53 billion. In other words, it seems that online gambling has the capacity to surpass estimates, and general gambling, the opposite.
🤵 How Many People Are Gambling?
All that money comes from gamblers all around the world: North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and every country that allows online gambling or land-based casinos and lotteries. Therefore, it would be great to know how many people are gambling.
On the other hand, although some websites create estimates out of nowhere, we prefer to be honest. We count on studies and reports to bring you the following facts related to the biggest gambling markets:
- 80% of the S. population gambled at some point in their lives if we count bingo and lottery.
- Around 46% of UK residents (16+ years old) gambled in the past four weeks of the Gambling Commission’s study on gambling behavior.
- Except for lotteries, the majority of those in the UK are within the 25-34 age group.
- Around 1.6 billion people gamble throughout the year.
- 2 billion of the entire world population gambled at some point in their lives.
General and Online Gambling Revenue (US$ billion)
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Even though it may look as if that information is simply for curiosity purposes, there is more to it than meets the eye. It is a known fact to online gamblers that responsibility has to be part of their lives, as it may become an addiction. Knowing how many people gamble and their behavior is how authorities can identify if there are issues that need regulation or help.
🃏 What Are People Gambling on the Most?
Around 20% of the world population gamble at some point in their lives and that number seems to be increasing – especially thanks to online gambling. But what are they gambling on the most?
Those who have bet on sports may just as well purchase a lottery ticket, for they are guessing well. In fact, sports betting has been the main choice of gamblers for almost 15 years now, according to the most recent data:
Gamblers' Favorites
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Both sports betting and casino have grown from 2007 to 2017, while skill and poker betting lost their favoritism. Also growing but in much smaller proportions are the lottery games. It is important to highlight that those proportions above do not reflect the total number of players, but the total spent on them.
In terms of casinos, slots are the most famous casino game in all three English-speaking countries U.S., UK, and Australia. The most recent estimate is that it is the preference of 53% of all social casino players. However, that is an aggregate comparative that does not survive an individual check:
- In the UK, bingo is still the preferred choice when it comes to casinos.
- Poker is much more popular in Australia when compared to the other two countries.
- Blackjack comes right after slots and poker for U.S. casino players.
💵 How Much Are People Spending on Gambling?
So now we know where people are spending their money, but not how much. Our “General and Online Gambling Revenue (US$ billion)” chart gives a general and more updated idea of that amount. However, we also got some details from some countries for those of you who are really interested in the specifics:
New Zealand Expenditure for 2016
In millions of NZD dollar
No Data Found
UK Expenditure for 2017-18
In billions of pounds
No Data Found
Australia Expenditure for 2017
In billions of AUD
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Another interesting fact is that gamblers who can already be considered as problematic gamble around £98 a day.
💵 Gambling Losses
Gambling can be a great source of fun, as long as it is taken in a responsible manner. Checking the total gambling losses not only per region but also per adult is a great indicator of responsibility. Lack of control or simply a dedication to a source of entertainment are divided by a fine line, which is why we have gambling commissions and regulators all over the world.
Gambling Losses Per Adult (US$) in 2017
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Gambling Losses Per Adult (US$) in 2017
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Our graph clearly indicates that Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore adults spent far more than gamblers from the rest of the world, on average. Contrary to popular beliefs, the United States got the 9th place in the Top 10 gambling losses.
💵 Why do Australian adults spend far more on gambling?
It may not be 100% accurate, saying that gambling is part of the Australian culture, but it is definitely embraced by most Aussies. Brands and casinos advertise everywhere, so it is quite impossible to keep yourself entirely away from gambling. In statistic terms, most of the expenditures are on the famous pokies, or slot machines. In fact, 20% of all registered slot machines are found in Australia.
Sports betting is also increasing there, but it is definitely the huge availability and the high additivity of pokies that explain an average of $958 loss per Australian adult gambler.
As for the other countries, the high losses per adult in gambling are resulting in some contrary efforts. In Singapore, the government is taxing and adding fees even to entering a casino, in order to diminish that number. To this point, it seems not to have the effect they were expecting.
💵 Gambling losses per country
The countries that lead the loss per adult statistics are not necessarily those with the highest gambling losses. After all, there might be many more people gambling less, but still summing up to higher losses. That is what our next chart will reveal:
Top Countries in Gambling Losses
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Therefore, even though the USA is not one of the countries with the biggest losses per adult, it has the second position when we consider the entire country amount. Also, for those interested in the latest data from other countries, we managed to collect some of them:
Losses Per Country
In billions of US dollar for accountable year
No Data Found
Gambling Industry Trends: Predicting the Future of World Gambling
In terms of growth, it is expected that the Asia-Pacific and Africa regions will be responsible for pushing forward gambling growth. Forecasts estimate annual growth with rates of around 8%.
As for the gambling categories, sports betting continues to grow at an annual rate of 7%. Online gambling, on the other hand, is not the favorite in terms of percentage growth. It seems that VR betting should take that position from now to 2023, at an average rate of 21.5% every year.
As a matter of fact, virtual (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies have everything to change the way we see casinos. The best part is that the whole new experience can be applied to both land-based and online casinos, with their own specific setups.
Until it becomes really popular, we still continue to be able to bet on live events online and check new slots/pokies release on a weekly basis.
💵 Global Gambling Revenues 2020
When the 2020 global gambling results finally come, it is expected that we will see a large drop in terms of revenue. At the same time, the online gambling market is expected to have grown about 13.2% by the time 2020 is past gone. An estimated total of US$ 66.7 billion as revenue can be attributed to the pandemic, which made gamblers stay at home for a long period.
That market comprises all the gambling activities performed in a remote manner, through desktops and mobile devices. It embraces:
- Live and pre-match sports betting