Online gambling dynamics in 2021
As 2021 draws close, gambling market participants share positive trends in their businesses’ context. The covid 2020 was a real test for the industry, and analysts unanimously say that the current year has brought everything back to normal – profits, players, records. But let’s not forget that the same online casinos felt great throughout. A little bit of analysis follows.
So, at the end of the second quarter, US casinos made a profit of $13.6 billion – a 25% increase compared to the same period in 2019. Also, this year, we can talk about a real “explosion” of casino gambling – in those states where gambling activity is allowed, the figures have seriously exceeded those for 2019.
However, the quarantine restrictions on visitor numbers were lifted back in early summer, and it is safe to say that players are now putting a lot of effort into catching up with what they missed in 2020. For example, bookmakers and casinos have seen their profits hit the $25 billion mark in the first six months of activity.
However, it is not clear at this stage whether 2021 will be able to beat 2019’s numbers as the number of coronaviruses is increasing worldwide and a lockdown could be imminent.
Portugal deserves special attention – for example, at the end of Q2 2021, online betting brought in 82% more revenue than in the same period in 2020 – managed to earn 125 million euros compared to 68 million euros. Furthermore, the gains from sports betting show an increase of 224.5%, mainly due to the traditional European football championship.
However, total revenues in the second quarter are lower than in the comparable period of the first quarter and amount to 128 million Euros. Betting mainly owes its growth to football, with 77.5% of bets on it. Second place went to tennis and third to basketball.
- It is worth noting that virtual casinos are showing 20% growth, with blackjack, roulette and slots being in high demand.
Speaking about land-based gambling establishments, it is worth noting that they made 166.7% more profit compared to 2020, namely 30.6 million euros. Quarantine measures can explain such dynamics in the country. Slots came in first place with 10.2 million Euros. All other games, in total, brought in 4.2 million euros.
Italy is a real boom in online gambling. The momentum has been there since 2019, but the industry experienced a surge in 2020. Profit in May was €110 million – barring a slight decline in June, there have been monthly growth, reaching the €161 million mark in April 2021.
But user interest in online poker is severely declining – it was at its peak in April 2020 and had been showing a decline in revenue since then. Moreover, according to experts, the mega-returns will not last long – live sports are actively returning to the scene, and interest in virtual betting will decline.
