This year has seen an explosion of growth in the global online gambling industry, building on the sustained development of the past several years. These trends have largely been bolstered by improved global internet access, as well as changing spending habits and new attitudes towards online entertainment.
The sports betting segment is currently enjoying an especially fruitful period. A combination of regulatory changes, combined with the rising popularity and accessibility of global sporting events, has caused this. Many forward-thinking betting platforms now provide features such as live, in-game betting, which have driven engagement.
The boom is also being felt by online casinos. These sites have benefitted from the integration of technologies including VR and smartphone usage, creating more convenient, accessible and immersive gambling experiences. Platforms have also seen an increase in the popularity of online lotteries, thought to be driven by new blockchain technologies.
For the time being, the industry is healthy – the global annual market is valued at more than $97 bn, and this is expected to reach $132.9 bn by 2029. However, despite this growth, the industry faces a number of daunting challenges. These include ever-tightening regulations, new taxation schemes, and growing concerns over levels of problem gambling.
Online gambling continues to grow dynamically, and at Slotozilla's review of casinos, we don’t just observe this — we analyse the trends daily, interacting with dozens of partners and thousands of users. Based on global data from Statista.com, we’ve prepared a concise overview of key market developments.
What the Statistics Tell Us
In the following sections, we’ll break down some of the key statistics that have come to light recently and examine what they mean for the global gambling industry.
Sports Betting Races Ahead
Online sports betting is increasingly becoming the leading segment across the global gambling industry. Its forecasted revenue is approximately $50.7 bn for 2025 alone.
One of the main reasons that online sports betting is thriving is its relationship with technology. Now that people are perpetually connected to the internet and have constant access to betting platforms, new in-play betting features can be offered. These enable punters to wager on the outcome of a game, or even specific events within it, as the odds change in real time.
Another factor is the number of eyes on global sporting events. Once watched almost exclusively by Americans, events like the NBA and Superbowl are now viewed by millions in every country around the world.
Comparing 2025’s sports betting market to figures from 2017, current revenues are more than four times greater. Furthermore, the trend towards sports betting shows no sign of stopping, with it due to hit almost $64 bn in 2029.
The USA Catching Up to Europe
It has long been the case that Europe’s gambling industry outperforms that of the USA, but it’s beginning to look as though this might not be the case for much longer. The USA’s growth has been catalysed by various political factors, and driven by states including New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
Sports betting is playing a key part in the USA’s growth. This is likely because it was suppressed by law between 1992 and 2018, effectively being outlawed. It has now become more valuable than the country’s casino industry. Conversely, in Europe, the value of online casinos outweighs that of sports betting significantly.
Europe’s industry, including sports, casino and lottery gambling, is projected to grow by a respectable 4% between 2025 and 2029. However, the USA is expected to surge by a whopping 10%. Meanwhile, the rest of the world’s industry is due to grow by 7%, largely thanks to reliable markets like Australia, and to several countries in Asia becoming more accepting of gambling.
It looks as though Europe may be set to lose its title as the most profitable online gambling continent in the world.
The USA Has the Largest Gambling Industry of All Countries
When we break it down by country rather than continent, we can see how pronounced the USA’s market dominance is. This may not seem like much of a surprise, given how much larger the population of the US is (340 million, compared to less than 70 million in the UK). However, the sheer gap between these industries is remarkable.
The UK, which has a very healthy gambling industry and is very productive for the size of its population, is valued at $13.8 bn in 2025, set to grow to $16.5 bn by 2029. For comparison, Germany, France and Canada are set to reach $7.2 bn, $5.1 bn, and $5.7 bn, respectively. The USA’s online gambling industry, on the other hand, generated $25 bn in 2024 and is expected to manage almost $40 bn by 2029.
It seems likely that the US will continue to grow to meet the per-capita gambling revenues of its global competitors. The USA has the largest industry, but it is much weaker in terms of the amount of gambling revenue per person. This suggests that it has a great deal of room for growth.
The USA Expected to Top 120 Million Users
When examining the online gambling industry, we can’t simply look at the bottom-line figures alone. For true insight, the number of users must be considered. Adding to the notion that the USA is experiencing an especially verdant period of growth, Statista have estimated that the number of users will grow approximately in line with its industry revenues.
It’s a different story in Europe. Whereas the USA is forecast to add almost 40 million users to its industry between now and 2029, for Europe, this is around 14 million. As with other areas of growth, this may well level out after the USA’s sports betting industry reaches the level it would have been at if not outlawed for more than two decades.
World Leaders: USA, UK and Canada
In the global online gambling arena, there are three key leaders whose industries are remarkably healthy and profitable. These are the USA, the UK, and Canada.
The number of UK online gambling users is not climbing as sharply as that of the USA (a 2% increase, compared to an 8% increase). This may be due to the fact that so many Brits gamble (around 50% of adults, including lottery players), and that the rise it has seen in recent years is simply levelling off. The USA’s figures may follow a similar pattern in the years to come and plateau.
Online Lottery Is Massive in Europe
A much higher proportion of Europe’s gambling revenue comes from lottery games than the USA’s. These games have a longer history in Europe, and are hugely popular in countries like Britain, partly because they are considered a more wholesome and relatively harmless form of gambling. Lottery games make up a relatively small amount of the USA’s gambling revenue, approximately $360.30 per user in 2024. For Europeans, this figure was incredibly high, at $1,178 per user. Clearly, American and European gamblers have very different tastes.
In the UK, Germany and France, the amount of money that gamblers spend on online lotteries far outweighs that which they spend on either online casinos or sports betting (or even the two combined). It remains to be seen if the popularity of lotto games will catch on amongst Americans, or if it simply doesn’t offer the same levels of gratification as instant win games. For the time being, online lottery revenue in the USA is outperformed by sports betting, but not by online casinos.
Conclusion
Whilst the global gambling industry has been growing for many years, things are heating up, and the USA has quickly become a key player in the game. The main reason for this is the federal legalisation of sports betting.
Time will tell how other countries fare, as growth rates vary substantially, but the general growth across the board will likely be welcomed by many markets, industries and governments, providing steady, taxable income in an era characterised by geopolitical turbulence.