How much money is made on online gambling around the world?

Publication date: 03 Apr 2023

In March 2023, gambling operators from different countries around the world reported and calculated the amount they earned from gambling in 2022. The conclusion is very predictable: legal online betting and gambling benefits everyone! Licensed casinos and betting companies are making more and more money in all countries, paying record sums to the budget.

March 2023 also saw changes in the gambling laws of various countries. New bills clarify the rules of gambling advertisement, propose new taxes, develop a system of players’ protection. Read more about all the innovations in the selection “How to promote betting and gambling: March 2023”.

2023: a successful start for casinos and bookmakers

Online betting operators in Italy earned €128.6m in February 2023. Compared to last year, the amount increased by 5.3% with February 2022 earning €122m.  According to the Customs and Monopolies Agency (ADM), the operator Lottomatica earned the most revenue (18.03%), followed by Sisal (15.58%) and Snai (12.05%) in third place.

In January 2023, land-based and online casinos as well as betting revenues in the U.S. totaled $5.5 billion. These figures were provided by the American Gaming Association (AGA), which gathered information from 33 jurisdictions with legal gambling. As the experts specified, gambling in the United States has had 23 consecutive months of positive year-over-year revenue growth.

Colombia also tallied gambling revenues for January 2023: revenues amounted to 81.248 billion Colombian pesos (about $17.06 million). Compared to the same period last year, the increase was 27.5%. At the end of 2022, COP 737.9 billion was allocated to healthcare by gaming operators.  According to the local regulator Coljuegos, 28.80 billion pesos out of the amount received for 2022 was spent on sports betting and online gambling.

2022 showed a steady growth in revenues from gambling and betting

The year 2022 showed a revenue of €962.96 million for licensed online gambling operators in Spain. According to the Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ), the amount has increased by 18.12% compared to last year’s figures. Meanwhile, income from online casinos rose by 22.4% to €498.4 million for the year. Online sports betting revenue grew by 17.69% to €359.9m.  The average monthly number of active gaming accounts in 2022 was 1,056,550, an increase of 5.81% year-on-year. As a reminder, there were 78 licensed online gambling operators operating in Spain at the end of 2022. 54 of them were licensed for online casinos, 45 for online sports betting, 9 for poker, 3 for bingo and 2 for betting.

Portugal published its online gambling results for the 4th quarter of 2022 with revenues of €195.3m. For the year (compared to the 4th quarter of 2021), the growth was 39.7%. According to the Gambling Regulation and Inspection Authority, the figure was the highest ever for the legal gambling sector.  The previous record was set in the 3rd quarter of 2022, when earnings amounted to €159.1 million.  Online casinos brought in the most, €109.8 million.  Income from sports betting rose by 30% to a record €85.5 million for the year.  For more details on how the country’s gambling market is structured, read the Review on 3SNET “How to promote online betting and gambling in Portugal?”

In 2022, Paraguay’s gambling revenues amounted to 143,734 million guaranies (about US$19.96 million). Compared to 2021, there was a 13% increase. However, over the last 10 years (since 2012) the growth has been 45%, a record for the country. As the National Gambling Commission of Paraguay (Conajzar) clarifies, the increase in revenues is due to the control of gambling and betting organization. Money raised from the gambling sector is used for the development of health, education, social welfare and sports.

Sweden’s gross gaming revenue for 2022 was SEK 27.4 billion (about €2.4 billion). Compared to 2021, the income grew by 5.1%. As the Swedish Gambling Authority (Spelinspektionen) explains, 1.7 billion kronor of this amount was received from online gambling. This is 100 million kronor more than the year before.
Figures for the 4th quarter of 2022 also show steady growth: gambling income was SEK 7.2 billion, an increase of SEK 200 million or 3.2% compared to the same period last year.
Recall that online betting and gambling in Sweden is completely legal: you need a licence to run a casino or a betting company.

Cyprus earned €959.6 million from gambling in 2022. The increase compared to the previous year was 22%: €783.5 million was earned in 2021.
There are now 479 licensed gambling establishments in Cyprus.
According to the National Betting Authority (NBA), in the 4th quarter of 2022 gross gaming revenue was €296.6 million (+31% compared to the 4th quarter of 2021). Online sports betting revenue (Class B) amounted to €212.6 million, while the land-based sector (Class A) accounted for €84 million.