Size of the Global Sports Betting Market

Sports betting has been present since ancient times.

20:57 05 April 2020

The availability of the internet and the development of smartphones, it is starting to reach new markets. The worldwide size of the market is constantly growing, whether it’s UK sports betting or a worldwide market. Find out about some of the most essential market figures below.

The Size of the Market

It is not easy to estimate the entire size of the sports betting market due to the fact that not all countries keep clean and clear records. Still, the market estimate is at around $250 billion and around $40 billion comes from known and licensed online sports betting operators whilst the rest comes from horse races, casinos, and other providers.

The Biggest Growth

The sports betting market in the United States of America was estimated at $20 billion in 2009 and it reached an estimated $40 billion in 2016. In May 2018, the Supreme Court has removed the federal ban on sports betting which allowed the individual states to legalize it on their own. So far, over 20 states have legalized some sort of sports betting and many more are venturing in this industry. The stigma over sports betting is rapidly declining in the US and the market is only expected to grow in the future.

The Biggest Market

The biggest sports betting market isin the Asia-Pacific region that has more than 4 billion people. People from this region account for almost 50% of all sports bets.

The Main Driver – Convenience

The main driver of the growth is convenience. The internet is nowadays available and affordable to all people and the creation of smartphones opened the door to a large market. The price of smartphones and the internet has decreased and the two became available to all the citizens of the world. Macau is the current capital of gambling and Hong Kong also contributes a lot of revenue but some known sports betting operators come from Malaysia and the Philippines. The market is expected to grow at a rate of 12.9% from 2018 till 2024.

The Global Growth

Sports betting currently accounts for 40 per cent of revenue from gambling, most of the income coming from football betting and the most growth seen in e-sports betting. Additionally, the sector is projected to grow at 8.62% from 2018 to 2022 globally. The sector is growing most rapidly in the US and Asia-Pacific but other parts of the world are also experiencing growth.

The future of sports betting is online. People don’t have to go to physical stores and lose time, they can simply log in to their account and place their bets.