EGBA: European gambling revenues drop by 23% in 2020

The gambling sector is continuing to reel from the effects of the global pandemic, as data from the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has shown that betting revenues are set to fall by 23% in 2020.

The data, published in collaboration with H2 Gambling Capital, has found that Europe’s total gambling revenue will drop from €98.6 billion gross gaming revenue in 2019 to €75.9 billion in 2020.

“We commend our members’ efforts in support of safer gambling and their significant investments in European sports. Like many other sectors, Europe’s gambling sector has taken a hit from COVID-19 this year but the growth trend of online continues to be strong,” noted Maarten Haijer, Secretary General of the EGBA.

“There is also still lots of room for growth in markets like France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, where the online penetration of the total gambling market is still relatively low compared to other European countries.”

The figures, which cover the EU-27 countries as well as the UK, has suggested that online gambling revenues across the continent have increased from €24.5 billion GGR in 2019 to €26.3 billion in 2020 – marking a rise of 7%.

This increase, however, does not make up for the losses across the land-based sector, with the EGBA predicting that revenues could drop by 33% in 2020, from €74.1 billion GGR in 2019 to €49.6 billion.

Looking to the future, the industry trade body has stated that ‘the steady growth of Europe’s online gambling market is expected to continue, with online GGR expected to grow approximately 7% yearly and reach 33.6% of Europe’s total gambling revenue by 2025’.

This, according to the EGBA, will be supported by the continued growth of mobile betting – which is predicted to account for 45.6% of Europe’s online gambling revenue in 2020 and to reach 50.8% by 2022. By 2025, mobile betting is projected to reach 58.2% in 2025.

Included in its update, the trade body offered information on some of its members including bet365, Betsson Group, Entain, Kindred Group and William Hill.

The data highlighted that 63% of customers used at least one safer gambling tool, an increase from 37/5 in 2019, along with 1.2 million direct interventions with customers to promote safer gambling, a 50% increase from the previous year.

Furthermore, the EGBA emphasised its member companies economic impact in 2020 with a combined €5.6 billion in online GGR with €340 million invested in European sports, €107 million through sponsorships and €233 million in streaming rights. This was an increase of 56% from 2019.