Catch up on the Slotegrator Academy analysis of the global iGaming market & licensing, plus news of Entain’s unregulated market exits. (Images Courtesy of slotegrator.pro )
Understanding how licensing authorities and regulations work in your country is an important part of online gambling. Fortunately for you, you only need to gather all the latest information for your country, while here on Casinoplusbonus, we cover multiple jurisdictions. However, that is why we are here, and believe it or not, we enjoy the challenge of keeping you up to date.
Another company that appears to share our enthusiasm is Slotegrator, and we’d like to thank Ayvar Gabidullin for the ‘How to Start an Online Casino in 2023’ guide. On top of Ayvar’s use guide, there is a wealth of information across the Slotegrator website that online casino enthusiasts, operators and affiliates in may find useful.
Also, in related news, we take Slotegrator’s report into account and look at Entain’s strategy to exit global online gambling markets. Therefore, we give you the best of both worlds. A global iGaming market analysis from a top white-label and online casino solutions provider, and news of another online gambling company giving up on markets where there seems to be no path to regulated gambling. We hope you enjoy our analysis!
Slotegrator Market Analysis
While Entain makes its exit from unregulated markets, Slotegrator has gone one better by offering its market analysis of global gambling markets in a publicly available record found via its ‘Analytical Articles’ page. In particular, a report published on 18 January titled ‘How to Start an Online Casino in 2023’ comes complete with a map explaining each jurisdiction, which I will cover in the bullets below.
- Europe (€ 30 billion revenue in 2022): There are currently numerous domestic licensing authorities in place across Europe. In general, the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) is enough to protect players in jurisdictions where online gambling is not illegal. The UKGC is an example of a domestic licencing authority accounting for 34.2% of the European gambling zone! Other countries with domestic licensing include Denmark, Spain, France, Sweden, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Romania and more!
- Asia ($72 billion in revenue in 2019): I have in fact seen varying reports on the region. You have to imagine there’s a lot of illegal online gambling going on here. Especially in places like Thailand where online gambling is illegal but also rife. I should know, my wife is half-Thai! Official figures put the region at $20 billion, which is way too low. Slotegrator’s $72 billion in 2019 is almost certainly closer to the real number. In 2022, it was probably around $80 million.
- Latin America ($2.5 billion 2019): According to some marketing research sources, 2022 brought in $2.5 billion, which means there has not been much growth since 2019. With that being said, licensing in Argentina is just getting going, and countries like Brazil are on the verge of regulating gambling. Expect a lot more from this region in the future!
- Africa ($2 billion in revenue in 2022): In fact, some estimate the market to be worth more than $2 billion. In a recent news report, one source put the market at $2.2 billion. Check it out – African Gambling Sector Reaches $2.2 billion (€2 billion). And there are estimates it will be worth $5.7 billion within the next decade with a year-on-year growth of 12%. Let’s see what happens!
- North America (USA – $10 billion & $31 billion Canada): Sports betting and online gambling in the US have kicked off so fast since state-by-state laws have been implemented the market is estimated to be worth $10 billion at this stage and there’s way more to go. As for Canada, most players use MGA, Curacao and/or Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC). There’s also the brand-new Ontario iGaming market. This brings Canada up to $30 billion in revenue.
- Oceania ($5 billion): With sports betting legal and online casinos illegal in Australia, the market averages around $5 billion. As for New Zealand, there is no domestic licence. Players reply on MGA and Curacao online casinos operated by overseas entities. Some market research sources put New Zealand as low as $200 million, while a government research project says unregulated gambling will reach $600 million by 2025 (see the below Entain news story for more info).
Slotegrator Academy
(A wealth of information)
- iGaming eBooks
- Video Academy
- Interviews with industry experts
- Infographics
- Interviews
- Webinars
Slotegrator Academy: Want to learn more about the online gambling industry? Then check out the Slotegrator academy where you’ll find a wealth of information!
Entain Exiting Unregulated Markets
Entain announced an accelerated strategy to exit unregulated where it sees no viable pathway to regulations coming into place in the future. My guess is Asia, where Slotegrator reports the largest gambling revenues in the world, will be the main point of exit for Entain. That said, countries like Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and India are looking promising.
The firm’s future is to operate in a select number of regulated markets that either have in operation or plan to eventually introduce domestic licensing. In short, it will continue to operate in markets where it expects to secure domestic licenses and will work to expand in regulated markets. However, the company did not specifically outline which markets will be left behind.
The company’s decision to exit some of its unregulated markets may not affect those playing at online gambling platforms operating under Curacao and MGA licensing, but it will impact those who participate in the grey market as Entain will cease partnership deals with these entities.
Most players play at these casinos because their country has no domestic licence in place. For most of our readers that means Australia (online casinos only), Ireland, New Zealand, India, South Africa, and Canada. Although Ireland will introduce a new domestic regulatory authority any time soon, India looks like it is not far off. South Africa already has several licensing authorities in place. Also, New Zealand is exploring domestic licensing, but this is just speculation and very early doors!
Regardless, Entain expects the loss of gaming revenue from closing its unregulated operations to have a small impact on its EBITDA.
It is also clear from Entain’s commitment to the Brazilian gambling jurisdiction that it will remain here, and it makes perfect sense as this is the most heavily populated country in the region with 200 million+ people. However, it has been uncertain for some time whether the Brazilian government will eventually allow full gambling authorisation. Some analysts predict that the government will pass the law this year, while others state it will probably take longer.
Barry Gibson, Entain’s Chair, commented: “We are proud to be leading our industry as the only global operator taking this approach of solely operating in markets where there is domestic licensing.” (see the full Entain news story here).
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