Online gambling is an activity that is offered across the globe. The majority of online gambling activity takes place within the casino sector, with players visiting online casinos and enjoying table games, slots and more. Online casino gambling is particularly popular in Europe with the area bringing in around $15 billion when it comes to online game play.
Overall, Europe is the most open when it comes to allowing online casino gaming. Countries of Europe offer casino gaming, poker, bingo, lottery options and more. Players have the option to go online or visit betting shops for sports betting options. Players have a vast majority of gambling opportunities in Europe, with the gambling market bringing in around $87 billion in US dollars annually.
On a global scale, online gambling has grown by 11% in one year, with the market bringing in around $37 billion each year. If you look at all the nations around the world, you will find that around 85 offer online gambling in a legalized setting. Now consider the global total of $37 billion. Europe is bringing in $15 billion annually. This is almost half of the global totals!
Europe stands to be the top provider online gambling by far. The United Kingdom is a celebrated area offer a great deal of online casino gaming options, but represents only around 10% of the overall gambling market of Europe. Taking a look at the United Kingdom will show huge growth over the past few years. Going from 2005 and spanning a four year time frame, the UK was able to see an increase in slot game players by 328%. Table game play increased by 52% while poker claimed a 26% increased.
When you look at the UK, one has to consider the regulation in place. The United Kingdom is considered a leader when it comes to regulation of online casino gaming. Many countries look to what the UK has done to be able to create legislation for the activity in their own country.
While the United Kingdom has been offering online casino gaming for years, the United States is relatively new to the idea, especially considering the legislative aspect. Online casino gaming first began in 2013 when Nevada entered the online poker industry. Soon after, the states of Delaware and New Jersey launched online poker and casino gaming sites.
New Jersey is the market leader, earning far more than the other two states have been able to do, in both casino and poker gaming. It is believed that the online casino market will eventually grow in the United States, it will just take time. Several other individual states have considered legislation but have not made any moves to actually pass a bill into law.
At first, other states began a ‘wait and see’ approach. These states were watching Nevada and New Jersey to see how they fared in regards to online gaming. However, it seems that time has passed and legislators should be able to see how the states offering the activity have been able to earn sizable revenues.
Despite expected growth over the next few years, it would still take the US a very long time to catch up with the UK. Because the UK has allowed online gambling for so long, individuals who live and visit there take part. Individuals in the US may be a bit iffy about trying online gambling or they may simply not have access due to not being located near the states that offer such gaming activities.
It will be interesting to see how online gambling continues to change and evolve over the years as more countries become involved.
