Global gambling market to grow by nearly £274bn by 2029 with UK to grow by almost £3bn

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A report by Technavio suggests that the UK Gambling Market could grow by £2.81bn over the next five years and as many as 23.9 million people will be customers of the UK online gambling market in 2029.

Technavio, who commissioned this report, are a ‘market intelligence company which studies markets in more than 100 countries to analyse competitive activity, see beyond market disruptions and develop intelligent business strategies.’ 

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This report was part of wider research conducted by the company that looked at the global growth of the gambling industry. They predict that the global gambling market will grow by £274bn between 2025 and 2029. 

That financial growth for the global gambling market would be 8.1% between 2025-2029, which is the period that this report predicts. The study also reveals that in 2022-2023, the market grew by 5.3%.

In addition, revenue in the online gambling market in the UK is projected to be £11.7bn in 2025, of which £5.38bn will come from the online casino market.

The figure for the UK market in 2025 is predicted to be almost half that of the US market, which is predicted to be the biggest market in the world at £23.1bn. 

Speaking about the report, the company said: “The UK gambling market is thriving, with online gambling leading the charge.

“The UK gambling market is characterised by its embrace of modern consumer tendencies and advanced technologies. Leading operators have skilfully transitioned from traditional to digital platforms.” 

Sighting some areas of concern, the report added: “Security and anonymity are key concerns, with traditional payment methods still in use but digital currencies are growing in popularity. Legality, societal acceptance, corporate sponsorships and celebrity endorsements continue to shape the industry.”

The report studied a range of factors from the 20 major companies it analysed including Flutter, Entain, bet365 and Evoke. It recognises that male customers will grow year-on-year 5.75% - an increase of the 4.29% growth it had between 2017-2021. 

In addition, the report cited sports such as football and horse racing as being the two most popular sports for customers to bet on. The biggest growth will come from sports betting thanks to the high-priced bets placed, especially in comparison to casino bets. 

However, the casino market is predicted to grow over the next few years - at a faster rate than sports betting – with more customers predicted to take up playing online casino games than sports betting. 

Three trends that the report suggests keeping an eye on over the next three years are: “The implementation of AI in gambling, the introduction of crypto-based gambling and the increase in the number of female gamblers in the UK.” 

It also suggests that the regulatory control in the UK market is expected to remain to ‘similar amounts as it currently is.’ This is despite the upcoming gambling levy that’s due to be discussed in parliament.