Europe’s big gambling nations: key demographic trends
A comparison of raw demographic data from Blask, set against the countries highlighted in the EGBA’s 2023 market overview, reveals differences in how Europeans engage with online gambling.
A continent of contrasting players
While an EGBA snapshot of 2023 revenues highlights why Italy, the UK, Germany, France, and Spain dominate the continent’s gambling economy, it is the underlying customer profiles, provided by Blask, that reveal how culturally different the markets are.
In France, for instance, 18- to 24-year-olds now make up the largest share of online players at 30%. According to the French regulator, ANJ, the player base is also becoming noticeably more female, underlining how the country’s online market is expanding beyond its traditional core.
The UK shows a similar tilt toward youth, with 55% of players under 35.
Germany also leans young, though with a slightly older core: 34% of players fall between 35 and 44, its largest single group. Yet this renewed player base on the German market did not offset a sharp summer slowdown in sports betting, with stakes falling by more than 13% in the second quarter.
In Spain, the 25–34 cohort is the largest (35%). Behind that group sits a market in transition: online GGR at the national level reached about €1.45 billion in 2024, with casino games overtaking sports betting as the main online product for the first time, even as state lotteries and regional casinos continue to anchor a more traditional gambling culture.
Italy, by contrast, skews noticeably older. In Italy, just 15% of players are 18–24, while 45–54-year-olds and 25–34-year-olds sit at 25% each. That picture, however, coexists with fast-growing digital play: research institute Eurispes reports that Italian betting turnover rose by 6.5% year-on-year to more than €157 billion in 2024, with €92 billion wagered online and the 18–34 age group now accounting for over half of all active online accounts, a sign that Italy’s online customer base is modernising even if the broader gambling population remains relatively older.
Still, these generational differences also help explain the variation in online share visible in the EGBA’s 2023 market comparison: high adoption in the UK and Nordic countries, far lower penetration in Italy. Italy now takes the largest overall betting handle in Europe but mainly relies heavily on land-based outlets; Spain has a booming online casino sector yet remains dominated by state lotteries. The demographic gap is not just cultural; it is behavioural.
Money, motivation and the meaning of a bet
Behind the age divide lies an even wider split in motivations.
Across Spain, the most common reason people bet on sports is to earn money (44%). Germany tells a similar story, with 40% citing profit as their primary driver, followed closely by adrenaline and excitement factors in the high 20s and 30s.
In the UK, by contrast, money barely features. Just 15% say they bet primarily to win money, the lowest of all markets analysed. Instead, convenience is the standout factor: a quarter of British players list “easy / no need to leave home” as their main motivation. The UK’s liberalised online model has normalised betting as a frictionless part of everyday digital life, with in-play markets and mobile apps folding wagering into routine sports consumption.
In France, players also seem detached from financial motivations. Only 20% cite money as a key reason, and many players frame gambling as a casual pastime rather than a competitive pursuit.
Italy stands alone in both intensity and variety of motives. Italian players report some of the highest rates of “adrenaline” (40%), “escaping routine” (45%), and betting to make sports more exciting (60%) across all markets. On top of that, half of Italian sports bettors say they do it to support a favourite team, a significantly higher proportion than anywhere else in the comparison.
These differences suggest five countries with five different relationships to risk, competition, and leisure. The Spanish and German markets appear more transactional; the UK market more convenience-driven; France more casual and socially detached; Italy more sport-anchored and fuelled by a passion for football.
A final divide: risk levels
Markets with the loudest emotional motivations, Italy and, to a lesser extent, Spain, seem to exhibit the highest risk indicators. Germany’s more structured, evenly distributed motivations correspond with healthier profiles.
Germany has the lowest risk profile by some distance, with 91% of players identifying as non-problem gamblers and only 2% identifying as problem gamblers.
France and the UK sit in the middle, with around half of players classified as non-problem gamblers and 5% identifying as problem gamblers in both markets. In France, the regulator, ANJ, reports that overall GGR is rising, but notes that the country sits in the lower range of growth compared with Europe as a whole. The ANJ, created five years ago, has been pushing for its orientations since then to translate into concrete progress in a market still dominated by FDJ United and PMU.
Italy and Spain show higher underlying vulnerability. Italy records 10% problem gamblers, the highest in the comparison, and another 10% moderate-risk players. National estimates suggest that around 1.5 million Italians now show problematic gambling behaviour, yet only a fraction seek treatment, raising pointed questions about the sufficiency of current tools such as self-exclusion and spending caps.
According to Blask‘s data, Spain reports 3% problem gamblers and 7% moderate-risk, figures that, while lower than Italy’s, still exceed Germany’s by a sizeable margin.
What people play and what they avoid
Another dividing line appears when looking at which products players actually use.
Traditional sports betting dominates across the board, but its strength varies wildly: from 70% usage in Italy to just 30% in the UK and France.
Online casino participation is far more split. Germany and Italy show deep engagement, with around half of players using casino or live-dealer products. The UK sits at 20% and in France, where online casinos are illegal, just 10%.
Spain, meanwhile, is eclectic: sports betting leads, but 30% play casino products, and another 25% use lotteries, with esports also gaining traction.
Lottery participation is surprisingly consistent across the continent, roughly a quarter of players take part in every country, reinforcing its role as a universal, relatively low-risk entry point.
The standout outlier is virtual sports, which attracts 25% of Italian bettors but barely registers in France and Germany, both sitting under 5%.
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