EGBA members keep balance between safety and play

Likely to no one’s surprise, igaming in Europe has grown – with €13.5bn to be exact, according to the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA).

The latest activity report from the trade association highlighted that casino games have represented 51% of combined online gross gaming revenue for 2024, which itself rose 15% year-over-year – and that’s just from EGBA members.

Meanwhile, the total number of online stakes was up 31% YoY, reaching 177.7bn (2023: 135.7bn), bringing in a value of €215.6bn, or 11% more YoY (2023: €194.4bn). 

It is worth noting that the higher rates mentioned above can be attributed to EGBA’s expansion with the addition of Superbet Group and LeoVegas Group as members throughout 2024. 

Spread across product GGR, casino games held the highest share of revenue generation among members at €7bn (51% of total GGR), followed by sports betting at €5.5bn (41%). 

GGR from casino games were up 21% YoY, while sports betting revenue saw an increase of 15% compared to 2023. Less noticeable in value but still impressive in annual revenue growth was bingo at €0.4bn (up 16% YoY) and esports betting at €0.1bn (19% growth YoY).

Business in the mind, players at the heart

While the value of the European gambling market unquestionably continues to rise, in no way does this come at the expense of players. This was best presented in the statistics from 2024’s European Safer Gambling Week. 

The initiative to promote responsible gambling saw participation from a total of 195 stakeholders across 26 countries, resulting in a safety messaging campaign that reached 3 million citizens.

In total, 67 million messages were sent to players in an effort to promote safer gambling, while 21 million customers (65% of the EGBA-represented market) reported using safer gambling tools in 2024 – a statistic celebrated by the trade organisation as a success in sustainability. 

Maarten Haijer, Secretary General of EGBA, rounded of the report by saying: “It was a significant year for EGBA: our membership expanded, we hosted a record-breaking European Safer Gambling Week that reached over 3 million citizens with safety messages, and we provided input into many important policy discussions.

“Looking ahead, we’ll continue to promote effective policies that support safer gambling and address remaining anti-competitive regulation and practices.”