What’s Going on in the Gambling Market?

In 2023, there have been many changes in the gambling market: the year was marked by new gambling regulations, the revival of some markets after COVID-19, and market repositioning. 

Slotegrator, one of the industry’s leading software and business solution providers for online casino and sportsbook operators, visited markets where the company has partners and customers. This has given the company a clear perception of the real market situation in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa. Let's take a first-hand look at Slotegrator’s key conclusions of the year. 

Europe

Europe is an inspiring and lucrative market for the iGaming industry, offering investment opportunities of all kinds. Some key advantages of the market are growing economies, established leaders, and clear regulations.

The European Gaming and Betting Associate (EGBA) estimated that in 2022, total GGR in Europe grew by 23% to €108.5 billion. For their part, online gambling revenues grew by 8% compared to 2021, to €38.2 billion.

Here are the highlights of some European countries: 

• Denmark and Sweden are regulated, growing, and prosperous countries, and both online casinos and sports betting are popular here.
• The Baltic countries have seen economic growth and good regulatory development — Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia offer licenses for both online casinos and sportsbooks. While the Latvian government intends to reduce access to gambling to alleviate the effects of problem gaming on society, it is a slot-heavy market, with casinos accounting for 80% of total GGR.
• Switzerland is one of the world’s most developed countries in terms of nominal GDP per capita, though regulation for online gambling has been introduced relatively recently.
• Poland is the sixth largest economy in the European Union, and with a population comparable to its western neighbors, it is likely that its iGaming market will continue to strengthen in the coming years.
• Portugal has high tax rates for local operators but fully regulated land-based and online gambling markets.
• Italy has one of the world’s most thorough regulatory frameworks.
• Malta is the world’s most renowned gambling jurisdiction and the first European Union member state to adopt a set of online gambling regulations. The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) is planning to develop an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Code of Good Practice.
• Spain is one of the biggest markets in Europe with its €7.6 billion combined GGR. 
• Romania is a fully regulated gambling market with clear rules and licensing requirements.
• The Cyprus gambling market is returning to its previous levels after COVID-19.
• Serbia’s desire to enter the EU has provided motivation to develop its gambling regulations further. In 2011, online gambling became legal, and the full regulations appeared in 2013.The law was further amended in 2020. Today, it also includes common rules for advertisement and responsible gaming, as well as AML policies.
• The United Kingdom is adjusting to the Gambling White Paper (a new approach to the regulation of online gambling in the UK) that was published on 27 April 2023 by the British Government. The White Paper revises the 2005 Gambling Act and all the changes will impact one of the biggest gambling markets in the world.

Latin America

Latin America is home to some of the world’s most exciting emerging markets. In Latin American countries, it’s essential to comply with gaming standards because sport and everything that goes with it have tremendous cultural importance.

Latin American countries such as Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Columbia, and Chile have grabbed plenty of headlines throughout the iGaming sector in the past few years. Brazil is considered the “sleeping giant” of Latin America; the country’s online gambling GGR is expected to grow significantly and will reach about $1.6 billion by 2026, and it is one of the largest markets in the region.

Each county is at its own stage of development. 

• Brazil recently enacted a provisional measure to regulate sports betting. 
• Mexico is struggling to rein in the countries’ gray market, but in the next three years, the market is expected to grow by 33%. 
• Peruvian regulators have big plans to charge more from iGaming companies – at least three times more than originally planned. The industry may see the finalization of the process before the end of 2023. 
• In Columbia, there will be a new set of regulations intended to combat problem gambling by requiring online operators to, among other things, detect risky behavior and display warning messages, and enable players to exclude themselves and limit their deposits. The country is also updating legal provisions to better adapt to the digital age.

Asia

Asia is a very diverse and promising region, densely populated, and with a rapidly growing economy. As for gambling control in Asian countries, this market is considered one of the most tightly regulated. 

At the same time, with over 60% of the world’s population, a cultural appetite for betting, a growing middle class, and widespread faith in the power of luck, Asia is the perfect environment for some of the world’s most attractive markets.

The Philippines is still considered the iGaming center of Asia due to its POGO program. According to Maybank Securities Inc, the Philippine gaming sector has shown sustained industry GGR growth. Its casino sector produced GGR of PHP59.26 billion ($1.06 billion) in the three months to March 31, up by 80.9 percent from the prior-year period.

There is a drive to liberalize the market: Thailand is discussing the details of market regulation, Vietnam is testing a pilot program to allow locals to play in casinos that previously only admitted tourists, and some states in India are considering regulating online gambling. In Japan, the gambling market is very limited, but players spend an impressive amount of money on foreign sportsbooks — roughly $40 billion each year. 

The Indian market is full of potential, despite its complicated regulatory landscape (laws vary from state to state, though the country recently established a national regulator). In 2022, total revenue in the casino gaming segment was projected to reach $1 billion within a few years. With a population of 1.3 billion, increasing internet connectivity, and spreading mobile usage, India has plenty of potential for operators who successfully localize their offerings (including rummy, cricket betting, and other local favorites). Self-governing iGaming is also coming to India. In January 2023, the Ministry of Electronics and IT published rules that would establish a series of governing bodies to oversee online gambling in India. Instead of a bureaucratic agency keeping tabs on the private sector, the “self-regulatory bodies” will be made up of online gambling businesses themselves.

South Korea saw demand for lotteries increase during the pandemic, driven by the cancellation of sporting and horse racing events.

Chinese gamblers spend ¥1 trillion ($145.5 billion) annually on online gambling, much of it in cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, the only legal betting opportunities on the continent are the state-owned monopolies Welfare Lottery and Sports Lottery.

In Turkey, gambling is strictly regulated, but the law allows betting on sports (football is one of the country's favorite pastimes), horse racing, chance games, lotteries, number games, and instant win games. Each game is regulated by a separate authority.

As for the CIS, in Georgia, the gambling sector grew by 23% in 2020, becoming the only part of the national economy that did not experience a decline during the pandemic. With the market booming, the authorities have tried to impose restrictions on businesses, including raising the official gambling age to 25 (18 for tourists). However, the new restrictions are unlikely to end locals’ thirst for betting.

Armenia has become a regional innovation hub with a tech-savvy population in the last 2 years. The world of gambling has also been affected — the percentage of gambling participation here is six times higher than in the UK, which is one of the key centers of the gambling industry in Europe.

Kazakhstan, with its two special zones for land-based casinos, has become a hub for players from China and Russia, where gambling is banned.

Africa

Africa is a home to several dynamic and fast-growing markets; its potential is largely driven by a huge appetite for sports betting.

Africa’s most attractive iGaming markets are Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and South Africa (the continent’s largest market, with a GGR projected to reach $2.3 billion by 2023).

Thanks to their economic dynamism and enthusiasm for online sports betting, countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya present plenty of opportunities for investors. 

In recent years, the stars have aligned to make Africa a tempting market for investors in the iGaming industry. The sustained economic growth of the continent, combined with an acceleration in the rate of affordable mobile broadband penetration and the willingness by local governments to regulate online gambling in order to add a revenue stream to their coffers, have provided fertile ground for the flourishing of dynamic markets filled with dedicated players, particularly passionate about the sports betting side of the industry.

South Africa is the largest gambling market in the continent, with some predictions estimating its gross gaming revenue to pass the $2.3 billion mark by 2023.

In conclusion, it can be said that there is a transformation in the iGaming market. It has to do with the effects of COVID-10, new regulations and technological changes in the industry because of the AI era development.

Slotegrator is creating and developing AI features, including its flagship product – a turnkey online casino solution – which already has AI-powered modules. Also, Slotegrator has created a unique solution for mobile casinos – Telegram Casino. It’s an innovative solution for mobile gambling utilizing a bot. Telegram Casino is an alternative to the standard gambling platform, available through the popular mobile application and designed to reach an entirely new niche of players.