The global gambling industry is one of the most successful sectors in the world, in which the transition from traditional brick and mortar casino services to an almost completely online offering has catapulted the popularity of traditional casino games.
By 2023, it is anticipated that the global gambling industry will be worth 92.9 billion US Dollars, while its current value is at around 59 billion US Dollars, indicating that the industry could almost double in growth over the next couple of years alone.
With so many online casino games available, this rich variety of ever evolving games has helped the industry to thrive. Today, players can choose from the likes of multiple varieties of poker, blackjack, roulette, slots, online bingo cards and much more.
Below, we’ll take a look at which gambling games are proving the most popular and which are generating the most revenue.
The most popular gambling games in the UK
Gambling is an incredibly popular pastime in the UK, in which more than 45% of British people gamble every month. Of the 24 million UK gamblers in 2020, more than half of this figure chose to utilise online methods of gaming. In terms of betting, around 22% of gamblers placed a bet more than twice a week and almost a third did so once a week.
Statistics indicate that only 3% of the UK gambling population play professionally, while others play for leisure. 35.3% of these people believe they make a profit from gambling, in which new online avenues of games offer more opportunities to win and have larger jackpots on offer.
So, which gambling games are most popular in the UK?
Poker
Poker is one of the most popular gambling games in the UK, in which land-based revenue for poker has been calculated at more than £280 million annually. While poker has long been a popular game in brick and mortar casinos, the addition of online poker has made the game even more popular with British players.
Thanks to its wider availability and added anonymity of being able to play behind a screen, more players than ever have felt more comfortable to dive into the world of online poker. With an abundance of online learning resources, people are now able to learn at their own pace and get involved with games that are lower stakes before moving on to the real deal.
What’s more, the abundance of online tournaments has meant that it’s now more accessible than ever for people across the world to get involved in professional events. In fact, more and more players are now leaving behind their 9-5 to become professional poker players.
Bingo
Bingo is part of British culture and has been popular for decades.
As of 2020, bingo in the UK generated more than £200 million, with £98.2 million being generated from online bingo games alone. Bingo has been an intrinsic part of British culture since as early as World War II in the UK, in which the game was originally used as a way for communities to get together in village halls and raise much needed funds for local causes.
Today, the addition of online bingo has renewed the British public’s interest in the game, in which there are a variety of reasons why online bingo is one of the most popular gambling games. Let’s take a look at this in more detail below.
Accessibility: While traditionally, people would need to visit a local bingo hall in order to get their weekly bingo fix, the introduction of online bingo has made it easier than ever for anyone and everyone to participate. Players can get involved at any time of day or night, and in any location of their choosing, whether it be on the commute to work or from the comfort of their own sofa.
Variety: While there are only a few standard ways bingo can be played in a physical setting; online bingo opens up a whole new world. The standard variations are either 90 or 75 balls, however there are a variety of popular themes that online players can benefit from.
Affordability: Online bingo sites have a variety of offers for players, including sign up bonuses, no deposit bingo games and tickets that are much cheaper than in brick-and-mortar bingo venues.
Other popular gambling games
Other than poker and bingo, statistics show that blackjack is also an incredibly popular game, generating more than £750 million in annual revenue. Roulette is somewhat popular, generating around £2.5 billion, and dice games in brick-and-mortar casinos continue to be popular while generating more than £15 million in annual revenue.
Overall, Britain has a long history of being a fan of gambling games and sports betting, however online additions have significantly helped the industry to grown and are enabling revenue figures to almost double in the next couple of years.
Games like online bingo are leading the way in popularity with their ease of access, variety of games and generous jackpots and bonuses. However, it will be interesting to see which online gambling games will catch up as the latest technologies enhance online gambling, continuing them make them more popular with people who never would have considered playing gambling games at a brick-and-mortar casino.
