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Gambling's ever-expanding global community

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Learn more about the gambling industry's tech needs, age and demographics, religious views, and expansion challenges.


What we at CasinoWow love most about the improvements in international licensing and the regulation of online gambling is that they have proven how diverse, inclusive, and global our shared passion for online gambling is. This industry is a true societal melting pot, attracting fans from every walk of life regardless of age, nationality, socioeconomic background, or religion.

Where in the world is gambling the most popular?

Gambling is a genuinely global pastime, with many of the gambling games we play at online casinos able to trace their roots back to ancient China, the Roman era, feudal Japan, and on throughout history. Watching how these games travelled from one country to another as trade and industry developed is fascinating, giving us an unexpected look at early globalisation.

The global popularity of sports betting and casino games makes it challenging to determine which ethnic groups enjoy gambling the most. Still, we found two metrics that will work: gross gambling revenue per player and total gambling revenue.

The countries with the highest gross gambling revenue (GGR) per adult player are:

  1. Australia
  2. Singapore
  3. Ireland
  4. Canada
  5. Finland

While gambling is also popular in India and the United States, which boast impressive GGR and deposit amounts, their larger populations distil these figures, which is why they are not on our truncated list.

When you look at total gambling revenue by country, we see several new countries cut:

  1. United States
  2. China
  3. Japan
  4. Italy
  5. United Kingdom

Countries with large population densities might generate more revenue but not offer better per-player averages.

What does religion say about gambling?

With this global reach comes the reality of societal norms and varying religious views. A popular question about gambling in many forums is, “Is gambling a sin?”. While there are too many beliefs for us to cover them all, we did look into the writing of the Judeo-Christians and Islam.

Neither the Torah nor the Christian Bible expressly label gambling a sin. However, in both cases, the followers of these beliefs are warned against compulsive gambling habits and putting their faith in a roll of the dice rather than in their God.

The Quran, on the other hand, expressly prohibits gambling on the basis that they must trust only their creator, not "the devil's handiwork", which games of chance are believed to be.

This difference in beliefs is validated by the expansion of legal gambling in the West, which provides exceptional player support and protection, versus it being blocked in the Middle East, forcing would-be gamblers to use VPNs to play at offshore sites.

Why the average age of gamblers appears to be on the rise?

According to studies done in the United Kingdom, there is a slight increase in the overall average of the gambling community.

This trend of ageing up was first assumed to be due to younger generations losing interest in gambling and pursuing other online hobbies, but looking at the 18-24-year-old age basket, this was found to be untrue. Looking at that cluster of players, male interest is holding steady, whereas female interest in gambling activities is beginning to increase.

Delving into the anomaly, the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP) found that the over-65 age bracket had increased over the pandemic.
According to a study commissioned by the UK Gambling Commission, more than 620,000 over 65 players gamble online at least once per month. This number represents an increase of 8.7% of that age group pre-2019 to 13.5% by the time of the study.

The same study found that the gambling activity of players in the 45-54 age range had increased from 13.2% to 16.2% over the same period. This group is heavily invested in cryptocurrency, which could align with the growing popularity of crypto casino gambling.

Do Gen Z and Millenials enjoy land-based casinos?

While older demographics are drawn to the ease and accessibility of online gambling, land-based casinos are trying to figure out how to remove the Gen Z and Millenial crowd.

Unsurprisingly, these more tech-savvy groups are less interested in the time, effort, and expense of visiting a brick-and-mortar casino than their parents and grandparents. They demand instant gratification and faster access to more games and are influenced by social media and peer reviews.

Studies have found that Millenials, in particular, will visit casino resorts, but it is to party or attend the hottest new live event, not to gamble.

If they want to sit and stare at slot reels, they'll do so on their mobile devices in their homes, where they can watch Netflix or chat with friends simultaneously.

The isolationist habit of getting lost in a single gaming machine does not appeal to them. This is one of the reasons that casino groups in Las Vegas and other gambling destinations are providing more entertainment options outside of the casino floor to monetise this demographic.

Published: January 1, 2024

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Article by Polly

CasinoWow Contributor

Hey guys, my name is Polina but my friends and colleagues call me Polly. I am truly passionate about online casino gaming and exploring the different online gambling experiences. I'm really into diving deep into topics and researching all the details. My aim is to gather the best information and write interesting articles for all the readers at CasinoWow.

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