Mobile Gaming Set to Expand to 44% by 2021

H2 Gambling Capital forecast that mobile gambling would account for more than €19 billion by 2021, representing almost 44% of gross gambling wins and over 5% of all gambling winnings. The figures appeared in its report, “Mobile: the Future of Interactive Gaming.” They marked a sizable increase from the €14.5 billion, or just over 18% of gross gambling wins, attributed to the sector in 2012. That figure was itself a large jump from 2010, when mobile gambling was valued at only €2.4 billion, most of it generated by online betting on Asian horseracing. The Hong Kong Jockey Club and the Japanese Racing Association accounted for over half of that total. As European markets regulated online gaming, Asian racing’s share fell to less than 40% of gross gambling wins. At the time, emerging U.S. markets were also expected to reduce that share further.

Mobile Device Strength a Large Factor in Mobile Gaming Expansion

At the time of the report, over 75% of online gaming gross wins still came from online betting. H2 expected that to change as mobile gaming and lotteries emerged in the market, and forecast that mobile gaming would match traditional online gaming in approximately five years. H2 stated that gaming “has been slower to take off on mobile devices as it requires increased device capability to support the enhanced graphics and sustained play.” As mobile devices gained processing speed and battery life, they could support more complex programs and longer sessions of online gaming.

H2 expected most gaming revenue to continue coming from onshore gaming, partly because of the PC market, while noting that the split between offshore and onshore activity varied by market. The report attributed this difference to “further adoption of mobile devices in regulating markets and supply-led demand brought about by the enhanced product offering from the larger established licensees.”

H2's Global Mobile Gaming Dataset

The report described mobile gaming as an expanding market and presented H2’s Global Mobile Gaming Dataset as its most detailed data set to date. It focused on market-by-market analysis, smartphone penetration by geography, and product analysis in selected countries. H2 said it had access to the dataset for 12 months.

The report anticipated that faster, more powerful mobile devices would support more comprehensive software and make online gaming more accessible. The extent to which mobile gaming would capture the market remained uncertain, but H2 expected the sector to continue growing.