Gambling is a global phenomenon. It is fun, entertaining, and thrilling as it is a game of chance and luck.
People from the US, Asia, Europe, and all around the world love to play casino games. In fact, data shows that around 26% of the world’s population gamble. This means that around 1.6 billion people from all around the world gamble. That being said, the global gambling industry continues to prove that it is one of the most vibrant entertainment industries around the world, reaching $227 billion in 2020.
Now, in Europe, the gambling industry is huge. Europe is one of the biggest world’s gambling markets. Data from Statista shows that the overall online Gross Gaming Revenue here reached nearly 24.7 billion euros in 2020, numbers mostly generated by sports betting, online casinos, online lottery, and poker games.
In the future, Europe is expected to witness further notable growth in the online gambling and betting market in particular. After the United Kingdom has passed legislation to legalize online gambling, many European countries, including Italy, Spain, and France, followed the UK’s move. What’s more, following the UK’s decision, proposals for legalizing online gambling were also made in other European countries such as Germany and the Netherlands. Soon, players in all these European countries will be able to play codere casino legally.
Bellow, we’ll discuss the top gambling markets in the EU, based on their Gross Gaming Revenues in 2019.
Italy
In 2019, the Gross Gaming Revenue accounted for 18.1 billion euros.
Gambling activities have a long history in Italy, dating back to the days of the Roman Empire. So, it’s no surprise that Italian players are fans of gambling.
Across the country, gambling, betting, and lotteries are legal. In fact, the gambling laws in Italy are considered fairly liberal compared to the laws and regulations in the rest of the European countries.
In 2018, the Italian government issued some more relaxed rules. As a result, the gross gambling revenue was the highest in Italy compared to other European countries. In 2019, the Italian gambling industry got its amount wagered of 110 billion euros from money spent by players on casino games, poker cash, and poker tournaments.
Germany
In 2019, the gross gaming revenue was worth 14.3 billion euros. What’s more, the German gambling revenue is set to reach 3.3 billion euros by 2024.
At the beginning of last year, in 2020, the heads of state in the country had a meeting in which they approved gambling regulations to legalize both online casinos and online poker. The new regulations are set to come into effect as of the 1st of July this year. Thanks to the new laws, online casino operators can now provide poker, slot games, and sports betting to German players.
According to a report from Goldmedia, in a survey that included 400 existing German online gaming customers, 12% of respondents said they play online slots daily, and 32% of them play online slots weekly. What’s more, the report found that the smartphone is the most frequently used device for playing online slots, with 65% of respondents saying they use their mobile devices to play slots online.
France
In 2019, France’s gross gaming revenue was worth 12.2 billion euros. What’s more, in 2019, there were over 174 million French people engaged in gambling activities across France.
France is a very gambling-friendly country compared to other European countries. Here, all types of gambling are regulated and considered legal. In fact, land-based providers of gambling activities are allowed to provide card games, casino games, sportsbooks, and racing betting. As for online providers, they can offer all these gambling activities as well, except casino games.
In 2010, the gaming industry in France experienced the biggest change for good when the French government passed the Gambling Act, which created the Regulatory Authority for Online Games. Since 2010, ARJEL became responsible for licensing and regulating online gambling in France.
France is home to a great number of both land-based casinos and online gambling providers.
Spain
In 2019, the gross gaming revenue in Spain accounted for 8.9 billion euros.
Estimates suggest that the Spanish players gamble at codere casinos well over 1.9 billion a year, equal to around 480 euro per head, or 15% of Spain’s average net household income.
In Spain, Spanish players bet on almost anything, from lotteries to football, racing pools, horse racing, bingo, slot machines, and the favorite casino for Spanish players. Yet, the most popular form of gambling in Spain remains the state national lottery.
The Spanish betting landscape changed forever in 2011 thanks to issuing the Spanish Gambling Act, which legislated the online sports betting market that is estimated to be even bigger than the UK’s market, and allowed casino fans to play codere casino online.
The Spanish Gambling Act aimed to regulate online betting in Spain, allowing top Spanish online casino games to be legal for players in the country and the provision of games by the incumbent lottery operators LAE and ONCE.
Netherlands
The gross gambling revenue in 2019 for the Netherlands was worth 3.1 billion euros.
Netherlands’ lottery and games of chance industry allow land-based gaming. However, right now, remote gambling is prohibited as there is no legal basis for the Gambling Authority to award remote gambling licenses. Yet, in February 2019, there were a few legislative changes that have not yet entered into force but will do so since summer 2021. So, the current restrictions on online gambling in the country are about to change, which is very good news for Dutch players who are fans of online gambling.
Later this year, in the summer, it is possible for the Dutch government to give foreign casinos the license to operate in the country, which is a major step to transforming the country’s online gambling industry.