iGaming Market Overview 2025: All You Need to Know

With Betting and Gambling verticals never losing their popularity in any geo whatsoever, the global iGaming market keeps evolving and growing at a high pace. However, some regions and games have a higher potential in terms of conversions and profit. What to bet on? This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the iGaming market around the world: statistics, trends, top games, and valuable facts.

Major iGaming trends 2025

In 2025, the iGaming market is poised to grow despite stricter legal requirements due to other opportunities and promotion techniques. Here are the significant trends outlined by industry researchers and experts.

A data-driven annual iGaming trends report by SOFTSWISS highlights the following growth drivers:

1. AI everywhere, plus cyber-risk. Casino operators started using AI/ML for personalization, which allows them to make games more engaging for users. At the same time, platform creators are becoming increasingly aware of AI-powered threats, so they are leveraging RG detection and operational automation. Both sides are utilizing robots — cybercriminals for attacks and casinos for anti-fraud and AML practices.
2. Brand marketing with one-off promos. Major operators opt for longer-term brand building. This is why they strive for complex promotion: collaborations with influencers, SEO practices, and affiliate advertising. Such an approach allows them to reduce bonus dependency and lift LTV.

The European Gaming publisher provided some insights from Evenbet Gaming’s market 2024 research, explaining how last year’s challenges still define current trends. Accordingly, 2025 is marked by:

• Mobile-first UX as default. Monetization and retention hinge on low-friction mobile journeys, which become possible thanks to 5G support and instant payments.
• Omnichannel and live content. Live casino and real-time formats keep expanding. Product cadence and localization matter more by market.
• Consolidation and collaboration. Smaller operators will partner with larger networks to stay competitive, while brands will focus on creating a flawless user experience across all channels.

Here’s what European and Asian iGaming operators implement in their products:

Yogonet outlined one more key trend shaping the iGaming market – blockchain and crypto payments. Beyond fast, transparent transactions, blockchain underpins provably fair mechanics and fuels decentralized casino models. Privacy-leaning “no-verification” experiences are gaining attention, though they heighten regulatory and KYC scrutiny.

Lastly, gamification and immersion will deepen engagement. Leaderboards, missions, and achievement loops extend sessions and loyalty, while AR/VR layers introduce more interactive, “presence-rich” casino moments that feel less transactional.

What do statistics say?

Key statistics illustrate the stable growth of the iGaming market around the world.

According to Future Market Insights Inc., the Online Gambling Market is estimated to be valued at $105.5 bln in 2025 and is projected to reach $286.4 bln by 2035, registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.5% over the forecast period. The leading segment in the market is sports betting (48%), while the fastest-growing regions will be North America, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.

Demand Sage provides the following curious number:

• Nearly 80% of online gamblers use smartphones as their primary device.
• Europe accounts for almost 50% of the global online gambling market as of 2025.
• About 1 in 5 adults globally have gambled online in 2025.

While land-based casinos in the United States generate the highest revenue, the income of online casinos has risen in 2025, which hints at the future migration of players’ budgets into online slots and games alike.

A closer look: key infographics

Before you start working with iGaming offers, it’s crucial to understand your target audience and the specifics of the chosen GEOs.

Europe generates the highest revenue for iGaming market players. However, the Asian region is almost on par with the United States in terms of iGaming market volume:

Favorite sports for betting around the world:

Player demographics don’t change much over time. However, there is a stable transition of players’ interest from on-land casinos to online gambling:

Among other requirements, players value round-the-clock customer support, variety of payment methods, and easy access:

Top games

In the previous section, we’ve already mentioned the most popular sports for betting. When it comes to games, there are no all-time hits except for slots. In 2025, we will witness the rise of the crash games genre. In this article, you can discover the top 3 iGaming hits of 2025 – consider working with these offers and other similar games.

Source: Slotegrator 

Also, take a look at the most popular games offered by top operators – they set the pitch in the iGaming industry, being a step ahead of trends:

• ВraftKings
• Bet365
• BetMGM
• Flutter Entertainment
• Pragmatic Play
• Playtech
• Evolution 

Top GEOs

In 2025, advertisers should opt for emerging and evolving markets, especially Tier-2 countries. Changes in regulation and behavioral patterns lay the path for successful affiliate marketing. Here are the regions where you can promote betting and gambling offers and count on high engagement and conversions:

• Brazil GEO is projected to reach $6 billion by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of 18.4% from 2022 to 2028. The new regulatory framework in 2025 aims to formalize the market and attract international operators. Besides, high mobile penetration and increasing internet access make Brazil a prime target for localized marketing campaigns.
• The Philippines is poised to attract more platforms with PAGCOR overseeing licensing, providing a structured framework for operators. A growing online gaming sector with a tech-savvy population offers fertile ground for digital marketing strategies.
• Thailand. Rapid digital adoption and a young, mobile-first demographic contribute to a burgeoning iGaming market. Besides, ongoing discussions about legalizing online gambling could lead to a more regulated and attractive market for operators and affiliates.
• France is a mature market with a diverse player base, which allows for sophisticated marketing strategies, including SEO and content marketing. It has been growing by an annual rate of 8% from 2021 to 2025. A well-established regulatory framework under ARJEL ensures a secure and transparent market for operators.
• In the United Kingdom, online gambling accounts for 56% of total gambling revenue, indicating a strong preference for digital platforms. The UK Gambling Commission enforces strict regulations, ensuring a fair and safe environment for both operators and players.
• The Indian iGaming market is projected to experience significant growth, with increasing internet penetration and smartphone usage. Besides, seven states have allowed users to play for real money, while Karnataka and Maharashtra are trying skill-based licensing correspondences.

Also, take a look at Africa: increasing internet penetration, mobile-first adoption, young demographics, and favorable regulatory shifts make it a highly promising region for affiliate marketing.

Major challenges

The above-mentioned Evenbet Gaming’s research highlighted major problems of iGaming platform CEOs in 2024 – most of them are still relevant this year:

With AI gaining traction, the risk of fraud becomes relevant as never before. Fraudsters use various tactics to exploit affiliate programs: bot traffic, fake player accounts, bonus abuse, and click stuffing. Hence, before partnering with an affiliate, always do a background check. You can explore their reputation in the iGaming industry for any previous scam allegations and look at their past performance metrics.

Also, it is very important to stay informed about the regulatory landscape in the countries where you run affiliate campaigns and adjust your promotional strategies accordingly. Let’s take a look at what’s changed in the laws this year.

Regulatory Updates

Here’s what changed in some key iGaming markets:

• In 2025, the UK introduced online slots stake limits: £5 per spin for adults and £2 for players aged 18–24. In addition, from 31 October 2025, all remote operators must prompt customers to set a financial (deposit) limit before their first deposit and allow easy changes later. These sit alongside phased financial vulnerability checks.
• The Brazilian government issued Provisional Measure raising the GGR tax on fixed-odds betting from 12% to 18%, with the increase taking effect in October 2025 after the legal grace period. Brazil’s Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA) confirmed that from January 202, only SPA-authorized brands may legally operate.
• Italy advanced a full online (Gioco a Distanza) relicensing: nine-year concessions priced at €7 million per licence, with a competitive tender and technical compliance package overseen by ADM.
• Lithuania began a graduated ban on gambling advertising: all external ads are banned. On TV/radio/online, only betting ads are permitted and under tight time & content limits; signage is limited to operator names/marks on premises or websites. A transition period will run until 1 January 2028, when a full ban is scheduled to take effect.
• In the Philippines, the Senate passed the Anti-POGO Act of 2025 (SBN 2868) on third reading, institutionalizing a nationwide ban on offshore gaming operators (POGOs) and setting forfeiture/penalties.

When it comes to crypto gambling sites, they are blocked in many jurisdictions, from the US and China to the EU and UK. However, such platforms remain easily accessible via VPN, mirror links, or URL redirection. Incorporated in jurisdictions where crypto gambling is legal, such as Curaçao, Malta, the Isle of Man, and Gibraltar, companies that operate crypto casinos, including Stake, Rollbi, and Roobet, now rival the biggest traditional gambling groups in scale.

Summing Up

In 2025, the iGaming industry will provide new opportunities for affiliate marketers who are ready to embrace the latest technologies and test quickly in emerging markets. Armed with insights, you can choose the right offers and right geos – a combination that is more likely to bring you a successful promotion. Make sure to localize ads, consider regulatory restrictions, and don’t forget about events taking place. 

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