Prague, Czech Republic – The gambling industry in Central Europe has shown no sign of slowing up. Back in 2020, figures released show that the total revenue of the European gambling market was 81.1 billion euros. But it also projected that the number would increase to 126.3 billion come 2026.
Central Europe has seen plenty of growth as well, as the rise of mobile gambling continues to be the big trend. Naturally, the amount of online betting options is the driving force behind the shift to mobile play. Pretty much anyone now can carry a sportsbook in their pocket.
But other elements have factored into the popularity of mobile gambling too, it’s not just been about the increased accessibility. External factors like increased marketing from companies have had an impact as they push technology like secure mobile betting apps.
The ease of payment methods through e-wallets like Skrill and Neteller bookmakers have boosted mobile betting too. But where is most of the mobile betting in Central Europe happening? We have a look at some of the latest figures in the betting industry.
The clear shift towards mobile betting
There has been a steady decline in the gross gambling revenue of offline gaming in Europe since 2008. This is an important factor because it indicates a shift. It’s not just that online betting continues to grow alongside land-based operators, it’s taking away from those more traditional land-based areas.
With the growth of online gambling, there has been a steep rise in the volume of mobile betting. More than 50% of all the online gross gambling revenue in 2022 across the continent came from mobile platforms.
Countries with strong mobile trends
It is worth looking at the Czech Republic for some kind of benchmark for online gambling in Central Europe. Almost 60% of the nation’s gambling activity in 2022 was done on mobile platforms.
Also taking a rise in the volume of mobile betting, more than 50% of Poland’s share of gambling came from online sources. Alone the two Central European nations beat a lot of other countries who had significantly larger gambling market revenues, in this area.
Totals still rising
In 2022 there was 108.5bn gross gaming revenue (GGR) reported in Europe. That was an 8% rise from 2019 and a staggering 23% rise from 2021. Surprisingly even though the growth rate is much slower than the online sector, land-based revenue still dominates across the board and in individual countries.
In 2022 the land-based revenue was around 70.3 billion compared to 38.2 billion generated by online gambling. So online gambling has not quite caught up just yet. But all the projections are that the gap is going to continuously close. The gap between the two is expected to close to around 20 billion by 2026.
Where does sports betting dominate?
The split between the type of betting that goes on in different countries is very interesting. For example, in the Czech Republic, there is a fairly even split of 40% sports and 40% casino play with the lottery making up the rest.
Austria meanwhile was around 35% sports betting and 45% casino, while Germany’s sports betting share was even lower around 30%.
Device usage tells the tale
Getting deeper into the Central European betting trends from 2022 it shows the continuing growth of mobile gambling. It is taking over desktop betting at a rapid pace. In 2019 46% of bets taken were placed on mobile wagering (including phones and tablets) with desktop wagers at 54%.
That number then shifted in 2022 with mobile wagering up to 53% and desktop having dropped to 47%. So the usage of mobile had flipped the script on desktop completely and the projections going forward only see the gap widening.
It is expected that 64% of online wagering done in Central Europe will be done on mobile by 2026.