Gambling is one of the biggest industries worldwide in terms of market size and has been consistently exceeding expectations over the last decade. This multi-billion industry comprises many sectors, including commercial casino gaming, lotteries, sports betting, online and mobile gambling. Various factors have contributed to the consistent growth of this industry, including legalization, market expansion, increasing digitalization, and greater internet accessibility.

The coronavirus temporarily put a pause on this growth, but the global gambling industry managed to rebound almost to its pre-pandemic levels last year. Landbased casinos suffered a severe hit and are yet to fully recover from it but the online segment is doing spectacularly well.

If you are keen on gambling stats as much as we are, you might find this compilation of statistics interesting. We have crunched all the numbers to provide you with valuable insights into the current state of the gambling industry and its future growth. Our compilation encompasses data about market size, revenue by segment, mobile gaming, and consumer behavior. Ready? Let’s dive right in!

Current Market Size and Future Growth

Current Market Size and Future GrowthThe outbreak of the global coronavirus pandemic impeded the growth of this otherwise thriving industry. Governments worldwide enforced restrictions on international and domestic travel in an attempt to curb the spread of the disease in 2020. Landbased gambling establishments were forced into temporary closures and had to operate at a limited capacity after reopening but the online and mobile channels continued to thrive.

All these factors combined led to a severe drop in market size and revenue but things started to look up in 2022. And it seems this positive trend is set to continue over the next decade.

According to the Business Research Company, the size of the global gambling market was estimated at $449.04 billion last year despite the rising inflation and the supply-chain disruptions that resulted from the Russo-Ukrainian war that erupted in early April 2022.

This positive trend is set to continue throughout 2023 as the size of the global gambling market is expected to reach $702.45 billion this year. The figure corresponds to a compound annual growth rate of a little over 56%.

Forecasts suggest further growth over the next four years, with the global gambling market size escalating to approximately $766 billion by 2027. As surprising as it seems, the biggest opportunities for growth will come from the lotteries segment, which is expected to gain around $147 billion from sales over the course of the following four years.

The following decade will see the global gambling market climbing to an impressive size of $845 billion by 2032. Forecasts of the Business Research Company indicate the biggest opportunities for growth will come from the offline segment.

Outperforming Expectations

Market size data for the past decade indicates the global gambling industry has been witnessing consistent, albeit slightly shaky growth. Figures dating back to 2012 show the sector was estimated at approximately $296 billion a decade ago. Market size rose to around $309 the following year only to drop by $5 billion in 2014.

The decline continued throughout the following years, with the biggest slump occurring in 2020 when the value of the industry plummeted to $179 billion. Things took a turn for the better a year later as the sector partially recovered and reached around $207 billion in 2021.

Earlier forecasts published at the time envisaged a rise to $262 billion in 2022. But lo and behold, the global gambling industry outperformed these expectations by skyrocketing to $449.04 billion as you saw earlier. Have a look at the graph below to see how the industry did over the past decade.