Sports Betting Brings €300 Million to Europe

Sports betting is one of the main pillars of the gambling industry. And now, it’s estimated that Europe reaps €300 million every year supporting the activity in its legal form.

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Sports betting is only burgeoning in the United States, but the industry in the country is already expected to overtake any other gambling activity. Even though Europe is one of the main markets, the United States is clearly the future. By one estimate, mainstream sporting bodies, such as the National Basketball Association (NBA) can benefit by adding $600 million a year if they embrace the activity.
Back to Europe, according to the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), sports betting is giving employment to 33,000 workers across the European Union (EU), and it’s contributing as much as €300 million.
According to EGBA, sports betting is now operating in 14 EU Member States with 12 million active customers betting in one form or another every day. The net contributions even exceed the €300-million threshold.
The money specifically goes to sporting bodies, leagues, professional clubs, and understandably media rights, which are estimated to be one of the most lucrative segments for any investor. In 2017 alone, operators managed to rake in $19.6 billion in 2017, but the numbers are slated to rise further, reaching $24.7 billion by 2020.
One of the popular reasons for the rise was the development of the market and introduction of safety & regulation measures, estimated EGBA Secretary General Maarten Haijer. According to him, embracing clear-cut regulation has had a positive effect on the industry and will help with its growth in future.

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. – EGBA’s Secretary General Maarten Haijer

EGBA consists of actual gaming operators, such as GVC, Bet365 and Kindred Group, all of which are actively seeking to expand their reach into the industry.
All members of the organization uphold the highest standards demanded by the industry to ensure customer security, with EGBA members now having completed 56 audits that have reaffirmed, time and again, that they are fully compliant with European and national legislation.
To reveal the scope of the industry in 2017, EGBA said that estimated €22.6m were invested in Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, the practice of researching your customers so that bookmakers can prevent dirty money from getting into the system.
In 2017 alone, EGBA members processed the staggering 354 million and have increased the total available payment methods to 31. The organization provided more meaningful insights, citing the average payout rates at 93.06{44b09f69e02b4a9880bf6e3f987d2afd285263f93639dabf176d3ae6ad2c79c6} in 2017 and observing customer behavior to conclude that customers placed a wager every 17 days.
EGBA members are now moving towards consolidating partnerships with sporting bodies and of course snapping up media rights to guarantee themselves the best possible return. Amid a newly-formed standardization gambling body, the future of Europe seems to promise a steadfast developments for betting and gambling segments.