Catena Media research shows ‘consistent’ overall casino growth

Overall growth in the casino industry has been ‘generally steady’ and ‘consistent’ according to new research published by Catena Media, with the market predicted to grow by approximately 25 per cent in the next year.

The analysis looks at the trends in the casino industry, with a primary focus on  the land-based market in the years leading up to 2020. It has shown that the gross gaming yield has risen from $50bn to $130bn in 18 years from 2001 to 2019. 

Global Casino Market Gross Gaming Yield from 2001 to 2019 (in billion U.S Dollars)

Noting why Catena decided to embark on this research, Joevrem Curmi, Catena Media SEO product specialist, said: “We wanted to take a deep dive into the entire casino industry to look back at how all elements of the sector have grown and changed over the past 20 years, as well as how the landscape might evolve in years to come.

“The results are fascinating and although the world is facing some serious challenges at the moment, the outlook is positive for both land-based and online casinos as we progress towards the middle of the 21st century.”

The research examined the amount of time spent gambling which, according to Catena, ‘varied’ along with the percentage of time spent on each type of casino game.

According to the report, from the early 00’s to the last decade, casino gambling was the second most popular market, with sports betting taking top spot. Betting at casinos has slowly increased by 26 per cent over the past decade and projected to hover around 25 per cent in the next year.

Global Gambling Market Breakdown by product category from 2007 to 2021.

Lotteries also had a steady increase in time spent gambling, with it expected to grow to 17 per cent in 2021. Poker saw a steep decline in percentage, dropping from 19 per cent in 2007 to a projected low of seven per cent in 2020 and 2021.

The report emphasised the increase in online casinos over the last two decades which provides a ‘substantial amount of the total gambling market’. It anticipated that in the next four years, the financial value of online gaming will double from $45.8bn in 2017 to £94.4bn in 2024.

Size of the online gambling market from 2017 to 2024 (in billion U.S Dollars)

Furthermore, it revealed that there has been ‘fluctuations’ in recent years over how much is won online compared to land-based casinos. It stated that in 2008, the amount won online was ‘relatively small’ at just 6.6 per cent in comparison to what was won in big casinos around the world.

Yet, in recent years, online wins have propelled to 15 per cent of all wins with Catena Media predicting a sustained increase over the next few years.

Online gaming gross win as a share of total gaming gross wins worldwide from 2008 to 2020.

The report also assessed activities at the world’s largest casinos and how financially successful they were – with the list dominated by American casinos, as the top three biggest casino companies in the world have giant resorts in Las Vegas.

It revealed that the Las Vegas Sands, which owns The Venetian and The Palazzo in Las Vegas, claimed its top spot for money generated, reporting a revenue of $13.8bn in 2018. MGM Resorts, which owns Luxor and Excalibur, banked $11.8bn and Caesars Entertainment, owners of Caesar’s Palace, earned $8.4bn.

Leading selected casino companies worldwide in 2018 by revenue (in billion U.S Dollars)

While the report focused on wins, it also highlighted the countries with the latest gambling losses. Its figures showed that in 2017, Australia ranked first in the list of countries with the highest gambling losses worldwide with losses of $958 per adult.

The remaining top five consisted of Hong Kong with $768 per adult, Singapore with losses of $725 per adult, Finland with $515 and New Zealand with losses of $454 per adult. 

Countries with the largest gambling losses per adult worldwide in 2017 (in U.S Dollars)

Other highlighted figures include the largest casinos by size in square feet and one by hotel rooms, casinos with the most gaming machines, the highest amount of table games at a casino, the most poker tables, and the most slot machines at a venue, to name a few.