EvenBet Gaming released the report "iGaming Future 2026: Core Trends and Challenges" based on face-to-face surveys of 704 iGaming industry professionals in 2025, depicting the industry's shift from rapid expansion to mature transformation.
The global online gambling market continues to grow, with the market size reaching $160.58 billion in 2024 and rising to $172.94 billion in 2025, expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 7.4% from 2026 to 2029, reaching $230.35 billion by 2029.
Despite the continued growth momentum, the industry is facing multiple pressures from tighter regulation, increased competition, and rising operational costs. The core message of the report mentions, 🔴Under regulatory pressure and fierce competition, the long-term winners in the industry will be those mature enterprises with strong compliance capabilities, regional adaptability, and a focus on player retention and experience.
1. Ongoing intensification of regulatory and compliance pressures
Regulatory and compliance issues have become the industry's main concern in the past two years, accounting for 19% of all concerns, with 37% of respondents (262 people) listing it as a key issue. For CEOs and company owners, this proportion is 23%.
Major global regulatory changes in 2025 include, ➡️Google implementing stricter advertising certification and licensing requirements, banning personalized gambling ads, and adopting targeted bans in countries like Nigeria and the Netherlands;
Meta adopting a blacklist system, banning gambling ads in multiple countries including Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines;
Telegram massively removing gambling-related bots and channels;
Regionally, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has lowered the bonus wagering requirement cap to 10 times and restricted promotions; Italy's ADM has strengthened audits and issued new licenses; the Netherlands has completely banned sports sponsorships; the Philippines' PAGCOR has lowered the GGR tax rate to 30% while banning POGO and strengthening audits; India has passed a new law banning most online money games; Brazil has raised the GGR tax rate from 12% to 18% and blocked a large number of illegal domains; Colombia has imposed a 19% VAT on player deposits, etc.
These changes are leading to rising compliance costs, continuously raising the threshold for operations.
2. Regional differences highlighted, Europe focuses on regulation, Asia on competition
The challenges' priority in the European and Asian markets also shows differentiation, thus requiring operators to implement more localized strategies.
In Europe, regulatory and compliance pressures rank first with a 21% share, followed by competitive pressure (16%) and market adaptability (14%). The European market is relatively mature, but faces complex multi-national regulatory restrictions.
In Asia, competition ranks first (19%), addiction pressure and responsible gambling rank second (19%), and regulatory and compliance third (16%).
This difference is closely related to the change in the composition of respondents in 2025 — 🔴More participants are from Philippine legal operators holding PIGO licenses, with PAGCOR strengthening responsible gambling requirements. The Asian market is characterized by high competition, low entry barriers but rapid reshuffling.
In Latin America, Brazil remains one of the most attractive expansion markets in 2026, but its appeal has declined compared to before due to license restrictions and increased local competition. Africa, with its young population and penetration of mobile internet, becomes a long-term potential stock.
The main focus of enterprises in 2025, marketing ranks first with a 24% share, significantly up from 9% in 2024, reflecting the increased customer acquisition costs, prompting operators to shift towards existing users and brand consolidation. Expanding enterprise scale ranks second (17%), technological advancements remain stable at around 15%, while the priority of "entering emerging markets" has clearly declined.
3. Innovation necessary, AI becomes a core tool
The focus of innovation implementation is concentrated on personalized customer experiences (21%), new game mechanics (20%), and AI/machine learning (19%). The CEO group places slightly more emphasis on AI, with Europe focusing more on customer-oriented innovation, and Asia emphasizing technology and product innovation.
The technology department seeks a balance between game mechanics, design, and personalization, while affiliate marketing and payment providers lead in AI applications, mainly used for precise user targeting and seamless payments.
The report predicts that AI governance, first-party data strategies, and predictive retention tools will become industry standards by 2026.
2026 Industry Outlook
Expert opinions suggest that the industry will continue to grow in 2026, but competition will further intensify. Only highly adaptive and excellently operated enterprises will prevail, 🔴key trends include regulatory frameworks, scaled AI applications, and personalized user experiences.
The core of the "iGaming Future 2026" report is that the iGaming industry has entered a mature and competitive phase. The early wild growth bonus is gradually fading, and the key to future success will be "more compliant, smarter, and more player-centered". This report provides a guide for industry participants to build certainty in uncertainty.
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