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The online gambling industry, including online casinos, sports betting sites, and online lottery, has snowballed over the past few years. Today, more than 175 million people worldwide regularly spend money on betting and gambling apps, helping the entire market to gross more revenue than ever.
According to data presented by SportsLens.com, online gambling is set to become a $100bn industry next year.
Online Sports Betting the Fastest-Growing Segment; US the Largest Market
The growing adoption of new technologies in gambling, like AR and VR, and attractive bonuses and promotions that give players a better chance of winning have made online casinos and betting apps more popular than ever. Over the past seven years, the entire market gained over 100 million new users while revenue more than doubled, growing by an average of 20% year-over-year.
Last year, people worldwide spent $80.8bn on online casinos, lottery, and betting apps, according to a Statista survey. This figure is expected to grow by 17% to $95bn in 2023. Although 2024 will see lower growth rates than previous years, revenue is still expected to increase by 12% to $107.3bn. Most of that value, roughly 46%, will come from online sports betting, the market’s largest and fastest-growing segment. Statista expects online sports betting to generate nearly $50bn in revenue in 2024, almost 15% more than this year. Online casinos and online lottery follow, with $38.9bn and $18.3bn in revenue in 2024.
Statistics also show that the United States, the world’s largest online gambling market, will see the biggest year-over-year growth. According to Statista, Americans will spend roughly $23bn on online gambling in 2024, or 21% more than this year. The United Kingdom and Australia, as the next two markets, will see much lower growth rates. UK online gambling revenue is expected to grow 7% YoY to $14bn in 2024. Australia follows with roughly $10bn in revenue and an 11% year-over-year growth.
More than 195 million People to Gamble Online in 2024
Although online gambling brings billions of dollars in revenue each year, it also causes enormous costs to society due to the harm it brings to employment, education, and people’s finances. Still, the number of users in this market continues surging.
Back in 2018, the entire market counted roughly 82 million users, and now there are 176 million. Statista expects this figure to grow by 10% and hit 195 million in 2024.
Online sports betting apps and websites will make the most of this massive user base, with 143.8 million users in 2024, or 16 million more than this year. Online casinos and online lottery follow with 103.6 million and 34.7 million users, respectively. By 2027, the entire market will reach more than 233 million users.
