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Europe Online Gambling Market Report 2020-2025 Featuring Major Players – Bet365, 888 Holdings, GVC Holdings, Kindred Group, William Hill, and Betsson

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The “Europe Online Gambling Market – Growth, Trends, and Forecast (2020-2025)” report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering.

The European online gambling market is projected to grow, witnessing a CAGR of 9.20% during the forecast period (2020-2025).

Growing hardware and software innovations and the rising popularity of casino and sports betting gambling, along with enhanced internet penetration, are expected to drive the growth of the European online gambling market.

The dominating players have been focusing on mergers over the past few years, primarily to increase their stake in the market and to improve profit margins. For instance, Paddy Power PLC and Bet fair PLC merged to form Paddy Power Betfair PLC.

In order to gain a competitive advantage and compete with the established players, companies are developing innovative offerings in the region. For instance, in April 2019, one of the UK’s leading casino companies, 888 Holdings, had signed up a new gaming partnership with software maker, Microgaming.

Key Market Trends

Desktop Devices Holding The Major Share

Online gaming started on desktop computers, and many online casinos still focus most of their development on making sure that players get a smooth and well-presented user-interface experience. Desktops and laptops are considered to be the most convenient devices for online gambling owing to their bigger screen size. This factor provides the gamer with the ultimate online gaming experience.

One of the major benefits of using the desktop as an option to play online casino is that the number of mobile casino games on offer is significantly fewer than desktop gaming. Moreover, some of the mobile casino games only offer a few selections of the deposit options as compared to a desktop site. However, rising penetration of smartphones, owing to its convenience, is affecting the growth and demand for the gambling market operated through desktops/laptops.

United Kingdom Leading The Market

Sports betting in the United Kingdom is provided by the private sector and is conducted within a very competitive market. Online gambling is legal and regulated in the country by the Gambling Commission, which was formed by the Gambling Act of 2005. Online poker, sports betting, casino games, bingo, and lottery-style games all fall under the purview of the Gambling Commission.

As per the data published by OfCom (The Office of Communications, United Kingdom) in 2015, 6% of the users aged between 25-34 and 45-54 years engaged themselves in online gambling at least once in every three months. The second highest age group was between 16 and 24 years, which accounted for 4%. Rizk Casino, 888 Holdings, Casumo Casino, bet365, and LeoVegas are some of the prominent players operating in the UK online gambling market.

Competitive Landscape

Bet365, 888 Holdings Plc, GVC Holdings PLC, Kindred Group PLC, William Hill PLC, and Betsson AB are some of the major players having a significant presence across Europe. nMany online gambling companies rely on third-party providers, such as Playtech, for software solutions. However, some companies choose to backward integrate with technology providers.

For instance, 888 poker heavily invested in developing its own software and online gaming technology, primarily not to rely on suppliers. Similarly, William Hill, a bookmaker company located in the United Kingdom, was focused on backward integration, and thus, acquired Grand Parade, a software development company, in 2016.

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Apollo

Apollo Funds Complete Acquisitions of International Game Technology’s Gaming & Digital Business and Everi; Combined Enterprise to Operate as IGT

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Apollo announced the completion of the previously announced acquisitions of International Game Technology PLC’s (doing business as Brightstar Lottery) Gaming & Digital Business and Everi Holdings Inc. (Everi) by a holding company owned by funds managed by Apollo affiliates (the Apollo Funds). The all-cash transaction, valued at approximately $6.3 billion, brings together complementary businesses to form a privately held global leader in gaming, digital and financial technology solutions.

The two companies will be integrated into a combined enterprise in the coming months. Headquartered in Las Vegas, the combined enterprise will operate under the IGT name, while retaining the Everi brand in select markets and product lines. IGT will be organized into three business units: Gaming, Digital, and FinTech, creating a customer-first enterprise supported by a people-first culture that values talent, collaboration, and innovation.

“This is a defining moment for our industry. By uniting two leading organizations, we are building an enterprise with the scale, talent and technology to lead the future of gaming. With Apollo’s support, we are very well-positioned to deliver exceptional content across land-based and digital experiences, along with integrated financial solutions and casino management that enhance the player journey and drive value for our customers. I’m honored to be part of this exciting chapter and to help shape the future of IGT,” said Nick Khin, Interim CEO of IGT.

As previously announced, Hector Fernandez is expected to assume the role of CEO of IGT in the fourth quarter of 2025, following the expiration of a customary non-compete period. Until then, Mr. Khin will lead the organization and transition into the role of CEO of IGT’s Gaming business unit upon Mr. Fernandez’s arrival.

“Bringing together highly complementary businesses creates a more competitive, agile and well-capitalized platform built for long-term growth. We are confident that IGT is well positioned to deliver differentiated content and capabilities that better serve customers across the globe. We look forward to working closely with Hector, Nick and the rest of the talented IGT team to lead the industry forward,” said Daniel Cohen, Partner at Apollo.

The post Apollo Funds Complete Acquisitions of International Game Technology’s Gaming & Digital Business and Everi; Combined Enterprise to Operate as IGT appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.

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BHA Initiates Campaign Against Tax Hike

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The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has urged the sport to collectively lobby the Government to back British racing and axe the Treasury’s proposal to hike tax on horserace betting by bringing existing online betting duties into one single rate.

The call comes ahead of the launch of “Axe the Racing Tax”, a BHA-led public campaign against the proposal which will be rolled out over the summer.

A tax hike for bookmakers in the Autumn Budget would be the third leg of a triple whammy of financial threats caused by Government policies which jeopardise the future of the sport in Britain.

Economic analysis commissioned by the BHA shows that aligning the current 15% tax rate paid by bookmakers on racing with that of online games of chance – currently taxed at 21% – by harmonising all remote gambling duties, could hit racing’s finances to the tune of £66m in lost income via the Levy, media rights and sponsorship. This is because operators are likely to seek to mitigate significant tax rises through cutting bonuses, reducing advertising and marketing budgets and increasing prices.

Should the Treasury seek to raise the proposed single duty rate further to help balance the books, the impact on racing’s finances would be devastating, with a projected £97m loss at a tax rate of 25%, a £126m loss at 30% and a £160m loss at 40%.

Brant Dunshea, Acting Chief Executive of the British Horseracing Authority, said: “It is vital that everyone working in racing, the media and bettors fully support and promote this campaign.

“The Government’s consultation on harmonising online betting duties, if followed through, poses one of the gravest risks to racing the sport has ever seen.

“It will punch a huge hole in racing’s finances, risk thousands of jobs across Britain and threaten the future of the country’s second most-popular sport and a cherished national institution.

“From now until the Budget we will be hammering home a very simple message to MPs, Peers and the Government on behalf of millions of racing fans. It’s time for the Government to back British racing and axe the racing tax.”

The post BHA Initiates Campaign Against Tax Hike appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Central Europe

Change of Chairmanship in the GGL Board of Directors as of 1 July 2025

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On the occasion of the four-year anniversary of the Joint Gambling Authority of the Federal States (GGL) on 1 July 2025, Sandro Kirchner, State Secretary in the Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior, for Sport and Integration, has taken over the chairmanship of the GGL Administrative Board, succeeding Reiner Moser, Head of Office in the Ministry of the Interior, for Digitalisation and Municipalities for Baden-Württemberg.

During Reiner Moser’s term as Chairman of the Board of Directors, the GGL further established itself as a reliable institution for the supervision and monitoring of the online gambling market.

“The online gambling market has developed rapidly in recent years. The GGL has met the resulting challenges with great commitment and can already demonstrate remarkable results both in combating illegal gambling and in regulating and supervising the legal market. The exchange between the states and the GGL is always trusting and results-oriented. I would like to sincerely thank the Board of Directors and all GGL employees for this constructive cooperation over the past year,” said Head of Department Moser.

State Secretary Kirchner takes over the chairmanship at a time when the GGL is pursuing ambitious goals, including stronger international networking, particularly to further curb the illegal gambling market.

“The consistent prosecution of illegal offerings and player protection are my highest priorities. The work of the GGL must continue to be significantly geared towards ensuring that the business model of illegal gambling is not profitable in Germany,” said Sandro Kirchner.

With regard to his role as Chairman of the Board of Directors, he added: “I look forward to continuing the successful work of everyone involved over the past four years. We will certainly continue to face many challenges. However, I believe the GGL is well positioned to achieve this.”

The Board of Directors is the supervisory and steering body of the GGL. It consists of the heads of departments or state secretaries of the ministries responsible for gaming supervision in the 16 member states. The chair of the Board of Directors rotates annually on July 1st in alphabetical order of the member states.

The post Change of Chairmanship in the GGL Board of Directors as of 1 July 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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