100 million more mobile gambling users by 2018

The mobile gambling market will benefit from an additional 100 million mobile gamblers by 2018 driven by growth in regulated North America, a report conducted by mobile telecomms research firm Juniper Research has predicted.

The report estimates there are currently around 63 million unique users of mobile gambling services worldwide (including mobile lottery) and forecasts this to rise to 164 million by 2018, driven by growth in North America, the Middle East and China.

Of the eight key regions for mobile gambling identified in the report, the Far East and China, and Africa and the Middle East are forecast to be the two largest regions for mobile gambling within five years.

The report noted advancing regulation in the US holds the potential to open up mobile gambling to a wider audience.

The report also lists the rise of social casino-style games as an emerging driver for growth, with the popularity of products such as IGT’s DoubleDown Casino and the Playtika-developed Slotomania highlighted as evidence of this.

“It means that mobile device owners are increasingly using their device in gambling-style games, which is likely to drive real-money mobile gambling in the US and elsewhere, where the regulatory conditions allow it to be practised,” the report says.

Mobile has grown exponentially as a platform over the course of the past year, with the vast majority of operators recording double-digit revenue growth.

Paddy Power recently noted that 47% of its online sportsbook revenues were derived from mobile devices, whereas William Hill’s figure stands at 41%.