Liberalisation ‘fuelling i-gaming growth’
New data from Juniper Research has found that more than one in 10 adults worldwide will engage in some form of mobile or online gambling by 2019, with nearly half of adults in UK and Italian markets playing by that time.
While to some extent the finding can be attributed to migration of lottery purchase from traditional retail outlets to mobile channels, the research found that growth will also be fuelled by increasing liberalisation of online markets across Europe and the US, driving the use of casino and sportsbook services.
The white paper reported that companies operating licensed services in the regulated markets in the US states of Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey have seen a dramatic uplift in revenues over the past two years.
It noted that while the land-based casino lobby continues to oppose legalisation in many states, offshore sites that still accept US bets – such as TopBet and Bovada – continue to see high levels of traffic.
The research also found that implementation of the latest EU anti-money laundering directive is expected to lead to better harmonisation of national gambling policies, citing complicated licensing procedures in several markets that had resulted in key operators withdrawing.
Dr Windsor Holden, co-author of the white paper, said: “Playtech and Mansion both pulled out of Germany earlier this year, while the new tax rates on sports betting in Portugal have led to William Hill exiting that market.
“The introduction of prohibitive taxation rates will simply lead to an exodus of major players with customers switching to unlicensed operators.”
