Know Your EGBA

By Brian Cullingworth, Last updated Nov 30, 2018

Trade association issues some interesting statistics

The Brussels-based European Gaming and Betting Association, a trade body that includes most of Europe‘s major operators among its membership, issued a statement with some interesting 2017 industry statistics in it Thursday.

EGBA’s clients boast over 12 million active punters (2.4 percent of Europe’s population) using sites licensed in 19 EU member states which processed 354 million online payments last year, contributed Euro 325 million support to sports, and sustained 33,000 digital and high quality jobs in the EU across 14 member states.

“Europe’s online gambling sector is a growing and popular form of digital entertainment – but with this growth comes responsibility to ensure that people are kept safe while playing on online gambling websites. This new data shows EGBA members are at the forefront of the sector’s development, interacting with millions of customers and processing nearly a million payment transactions each day.” said Maarten Haijer, Secretary General, EGBA.

EGBA members collectively possess more than 134 different online gambling licenses to provide their services in 19 EU member states, averaging 7 licenses held per member state. 56 licensing audits in total were completed by EGBA companies in 2017 to ensure their compliance with local laws and regulations.

On average, EGBA members had an RTP of 93.06 percent last year, as players spent an average Euro 10 per bt on sports.

According to EGBA, online gambling had a 20.7 percent share of the total EU gambling market activity, while 79.3 percent was land-based, including lotteries, casinos and bookmaker shops.Online’s share of the market is expected to grow to 24.9 percent by 2020.

Sports betting (40.3 percent) was the most popular form of online gambling in Europe, followed by casino games (32.1 percent), lottery (13.3 percent), poker (6.1 percent), bingo (4.6 percent), and other games (3.6 percent).

Gross profit of the EU online sector is expected to rise from Euro 19.6 billion in 2017 to Euro 24.7 billion in 2020.

EGBA members contributed Euro 325 million in financial support to sports federations, leagues and clubs through sponsorships, advertising and sports rights in 2017.

At least 354 million online payment transactions – payments in and payments out – where processed by EGBA companies, representing nearly 1 million transactions each day. EGBA companies offered 31 different online payment types on average to their customers, and 16 specific anti-money laundering checks were completed by EGBA companies, through licensing audits.

EGBA members have established offices in 14 different EU countries, employing more than 33,000 people, from a range of nationalities, in digital and high quality jobs.

EGBA companies invested more than Euro 22.6 million in Know Your Customer checks, which enable identity verification and help to prevent minors from gambling.

See the Association’s Infographic here: https://www.egba.eu/resource-post/european-online-gambling-key-figures-2017/

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