Global gambling revenue reached $643.7 billion in 2025 — online made up less than a fifth of it

Global gambling revenue passed $643.74 billion in 2025, with industry trackers projecting growth above $655 billion in 2026. Despite years of headlines about the shift to mobile and online betting, digital channels still made up a minority of that total: online gambling generated an estimated $121 billion in 2025, or roughly 18.8% of global gambling revenue.

Lottery and sports betting are the two biggest named segments

By segment, lottery and bingo made up the single largest share of global gambling revenue in 2025 at more than $346 billion — well over half the market on their own. Sports betting, the fastest-growing major category in most regions, generated roughly $82 billion globally. The remainder is split across casino gaming, poker, and other formats that trackers report less consistently by country.

Where the money is: the US, India, and the UK lead

The United States generated more gambling revenue than any other country in 2025, at over $209 billion. India followed at an estimated $61 billion, and the United Kingdom came in third at roughly $27 billion — a reminder that gambling revenue doesn't track neatly with population or GDP alone; regulatory structure, lottery participation, and sports betting culture all shape where the money lands.

US commercial gaming just posted a sixth straight record year

The American Gaming Association reported that U.S. commercial gaming revenue reached $78.72 billion in 2025 — a sixth consecutive record year, and up from $71.92 billion in 2024, $66.5 billion in 2023, and $60.42 billion in 2022. Sports betting was a major driver: revenue from regulated sportsbooks rose 22.8% to $16.96 billion on a total betting handle of $166.94 billion, itself up 11.0% year over year. That growth translated directly into public revenue — state-regulated sportsbooks alone paid $3.71 billion in taxes (up 32.4%), contributing to a record $18.1 billion in total gaming taxes paid to state and local governments nationwide. All but one of the 38 U.S. jurisdictions with commercial casino or sports betting operations reported a revenue increase for the year.

Britain's regulated market told a similar story

Britain's Gambling Commission reported that the regulated industry's gross gambling yield (GGY) reached £16.8 billion for the financial year ending March 31, 2025 — up 7.3% year over year. Excluding lotteries, GGY was £12.6 billion, up 9.3%. Online gambling drove most of the growth, rising 13.1% to £7.8 billion and pulling ahead of land-based channels: remote casino, betting, and bingo made up 46% of the market by GGY, land-based venues (arcades, betting shops, bingo halls, and casinos combined) held 29% at £4.8 billion, and licensed lotteries made up the remaining 25% at £4.2 billion.

Growth in revenue hasn't tracked growth in gambling harm

It's tempting to assume rising gambling revenue means a proportional rise in problem gambling, but the most recent U.S. survey data doesn't support a simple link in either direction. The National Council on Problem Gambling's 2024 NGAGE 3.0 survey found that about 8% of American adults — nearly 20 million people — showed at least one indicator of problematic gambling behavior, including an estimated 2.5 million adults with a likely gambling disorder and another 5 to 8 million showing some problematic behavior short of that threshold. That 8% figure is actually down from a pandemic-era spike in 2021 and sits close to 2018 levels (7%), even as US commercial gaming revenue grew every single year across that same period. The data doesn't prove revenue growth and gambling harm are decoupled — only that, in the US at least, they haven't moved in lockstep.

If gambling is affecting you or someone you know, the National Council on Problem Gambling operates a free, confidential helpline at 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537).

Methodology

Global and regional 2025 gambling revenue figures are drawn from Statista's global gambling market dataset. The "all other channels" figure in Figure 1 is a derived value, calculated by subtracting Statista's reported $121 billion online gambling total from its $643.74 billion global total — it is not an independently reported figure. US commercial gaming figures for 2022–2025 come from the American Gaming Association's individual annual revenue reports, each published in the following February. UK figures come directly from the Gambling Commission's official industry statistics for the financial year ending March 31, 2025. Problem gambling prevalence figures come from the National Council on Problem Gambling's NGAGE 3.0 survey, fielded in April 2024. All figures are reported in their original currency and have not been converted or adjusted for inflation.

References

1. Statista. (2025). Global gambling market size by sector. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1656495/global-online-gaming-industry-size-by-sector/
2. American Gaming Association. (2026, February 27). Commercial gaming revenue hits $78.7 billion in 2025, driving record $18.1 billion in gaming taxes nationwide. https://www.americangaming.org/commercial-gaming-revenue-hits-78-7-billion-in-2025-driving-record-18-1-billion-in-gaming-taxes-nationwide/
3. American Gaming Association. (2025). 2024 commercial gaming revenue reaches $71.9B, marking fourth-straight year of record revenue. https://www.americangaming.org/2024-commercial-gaming-revenue-reaches-71-9b-marking-fourth-straight-year-of-record-revenue/
4. American Gaming Association. (2024). 2023 commercial gaming revenue reaches $66.5B, marking third-straight year of record revenue. https://www.americangaming.org/2023-commercial-gaming-revenue-reaches-66-5b-marking-third-straight-year-of-record-revenue/
5. UK Gambling Commission. (2025). Industry statistics: Annual report, financial year April 2024 to March 2025. https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/statistics-and-research/publication/industry-statistics-annual-report-financial-year-april-2024-to-march-2025
6. National Council on Problem Gambling. (2025, June). NGAGE 3.0: National survey on gambling attitudes and gambling experiences — key findings. https://www.ncpgambling.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/NGAGE-3.0-Key-Findings-FINAL-FOR-DISTRIBUTION.pdf