The gambling market of Europe reached €123.4 billion in GGR or gross gaming revenue in the current year. This is up to year-over-year. However, the growth story doesn’t apply evenly. Land-based gambling is stalling out. While revenue rose slightly–from €73.3 billion in 2023 to €75.5 billion in 2024–the overall share of the sector of the market dropped again, from 63% to 61%.
This isn’t just noise. The shift is consistent, and it’s accelerating. The latest projections show land-based gambling will drop to 60% in 2025 and keep sliding. It’s expected to fall to just 55% of total GGR by 2029. That’s a 10-point decline over six years.
Up from 37% in 2023, online gambling accounted for 39% of all GGR in 2024. It’s on track to hit 40% in 2025 and shows no signs of slowing. The growth is largely driven by mobile, which made up 58% of online GGR last year.
As user habits shift, physical venues, and even computers continue to lose ground. As per the report by the European Gaming & Betting Association, mobile devices will account for 67% of online gambling revenue in 2029 as users look for easier access to casino apps.
Consumers are clearly choosing convenience, anonymity, and always-on access. That leaves traditional casinos and betting shops with a shrinking pool of loyal users, as well as rising operational costs they can’t shed.
Even with modest revenue gains, land-based operators are falling behind in relevance. The fixed-cost model doesn’t scale, and digital-native competitors move faster and spend smarter. Even though not everyone has the resources to build or buy a competitive online product, some brick-and-mortar brands are trying to pivot into hybrid models.
The structural shift is already happening. Now, the question isn’t when the drop happens–it’s how far it goes, and who’s still left when it does.
