The global iGaming market is on the precipice of mammoth expansion. A great deal of this is due to the evolution of the regional iGaming markets in Europe and North America. European nations have a long and proud heritage of embracing various forms of gambling, whether it?s horse racing, table games like roulette or social games like bingo.
It’s a similar story in North America, where Americans and Canadians have also been able to rely on regulated forms of gambling in select states or provinces. Within this article, we explore the potential of the European iGaming market against the opportunities afforded to the US iGaming scene.
Bonuses and promotions
Customer promotions are increasingly part and parcel of the global iGaming industry. As the marketplace grows ever more crowded iGaming brands are having to get creative with how they reward new and existing players for their customs.
The UK iGaming market has long offered the most competitive bonuses upon sign-up, covering a range of benefits including?daily free spins with bonus rounds that can be used on daily jackpot games. These jackpot games are programmed to pay out their top cash prizes daily;?a great incentive for new players.
A quick glance at the US iGaming market suggests the licensed brands on the other side of the Atlantic are starting to double down on their own customer acquisition and retention strategies through bonus schemes. Many US-licensed iGaming brands have sought to offer deposit match promotions, incentivising users for making their own real-money deposits upfront.
The scale of each market
Although there is an immense sense of opportunity in the US iGaming sphere, it’s also true that the European iGaming market is still the dominant force globally. In fact, more than two-fifths (41%) of the market capitalisation in global iGaming is based in Europe.
This is due largely to the benefit of industry-leading iGaming hubs across the continent. Malta is one such hub that’s become a breeding ground for iGaming innovation and collaboration ? more on that shortly. Similarly, the UK iGaming market is well-known for the strength of its iGaming jurisdiction and compliance framework, which endeavours to have the best interests of players at its core.
Nevertheless, the US iGaming market will almost certainly be the one to drive the biggest revenues for years to come, simply due to the numbers involved. Newzoo found that $60 billion worth of revenue was generated by the US Gaming market in 2021, compared with ?23.2 billion in Europe.
Innovation
Europe’s iGaming market is well-established and has the edge over its US counterparts in terms of creativity and innovation. The Europe-based Evolution Gaming has been at the forefront of the fast-growing live dealer casino subsector, investing in the industry’s largest live casino studio in the Latvian capital of Riga.
It’s a facility that operates 100 table games simultaneously by trained dealers. Evolution is also bringing this concept to the US iGaming market, with its B2B solutions proving the perfect addition to US brands that are fast becoming entrenched in popular culture.
In many ways, it feels like Europe is still leading the way in terms of how an iGaming market should look and perform. However, the commercial opportunities west of the Atlantic look mouth-watering for those who can crack the market stateside.
