Europe’s online gambling market is projected to reach €54.8bn in 2026 as digital play gains share

Europe’s gambling market is moving further online, although physical venues still account for a large share of gambling revenue. A market study from Houlihan Lokey, drawing on data from the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), S&P Capital IQ, PitchBook and LSEG, projects European online gambling revenue to reach €54.8 billion in 2026. That would put iGaming at roughly 41% of the region’s projected €132.7 billion total gambling market for the year.

The forecast follows a longer shift toward digital gambling. EGBA and H2 Gambling Capital estimated that online gambling generated €47.9 billion in 2024, accounting for 39% of Europe’s total gambling revenue. That was up from 37% in 2023. Their longer-range forecast puts online gambling at €66.8 billion by 2029, giving it a 45% share of the total European market.

Europe is not a single iGaming market because individual countries have their own regulatory systems. The European Commission notes that EU countries are responsible for organizing gambling services within their territories, as long as their systems comply with EU law. Some countries allow several licensed operators, while others retain more restrictive structures. If you want to project where Europe’s iGaming sector is heading, understanding that difference helps.

iGaming is gaining ground without replacing the entire market

Think about the convenience digital casinos offer. Just a few taps on your phone can be enough to place a wager or move between different games without traveling to a physical venue. In addition to convenience, operators also use various promotional features to make gameplay more engaging.

Take 15 euro free casino promo, for instance. With this feature, players can access a set of eligible games without committing the same amount of their own funds upfront. As a result, the iGaming sector has been advancing. In 2019, this segment represented only 26% of Europe’s total gambling revenue.

By 2024, the share had grown to 39%. But that was not the end, as newer predictions indicated that online gambling could account for 45% of total gambling revenue by 2029. Based on these statistics alone, you may be tempted to think that the iGaming sector is on course to displace its physical counterpart altogether. But that may not happen because physical venues still have their own appeal.

Social interaction in those venues is a good example. Yes, online casinos have tried to replicate that through features like live casino games, but the experience is still different when people are physically present in the same room. This is part of why the growth of online gambling doesn’t automatically mean the end of land-based venues.

But why does the shift toward digital keep building?

One reason is the growing popularity of mobile devices. In the early days of iGaming, players still relied heavily on desktop computers to access their favorite games. And even though that made gambling more convenient, access was still tied to a specific location. Smartphones changed that experience by letting players participate from virtually anywhere.

As such, it’s no surprise that EGBA believes mobile devices accounted for 58% of the continent’s iGaming revenue in 2024, and that figure could hit 67% by 2029. But the growing popularity of smartphones wouldn’t have impacted the industry as much if operators hadn’t responded.

You don’t want to log in to a casino that requires you to pinch or zoom in on the website every now and then. These experiences can frustrate players and even cause them to never return to the platform. But with the competition today, no operator wants to take that kind of hit. That’s why many have turned to mobile-first design, ensuring players can access entertainment on small-screen devices with minimal friction.

And when play is seamless, more people can participate, further hinting at why mobile access has become such a central part of the European market.

Regulation is becoming part of the market’s digital development

As iGaming advances, regulations are also evolving alongside it. In Finland, for instance, the government confirmed legislation that will end Veikkaus’ monopoly over gambling activities. These activities are moving toward a licensing model, with most of the new framework taking effect on 1 July 2027.

In other countries, such as the UK, the existing systems are being updated rather than replaced. Recently, the UK Gambling Commission paid close attention to identity verification for remote gambling. In an August 2026 update, it reminded operators that customers must have their identity verified before they can gamble. The rules also state that an operator should not wait until a withdrawal request to ask for information that could reasonably have been requested earlier.

Based on these factors, it may not be easy to say exactly where every part of Europe’s iGaming market will be in the next few years. And even though the sector is expected to continue to grow, what happens next will depend heavily on how individual countries regulate online gambling and how consumers choose to use online and physical channels.

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