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State of Play’s TL;DR
- A new SOFTSWISS industry report projects North America as the fastest-growing major online gambling market through 2028.
- That’s despite the US remaining a patchwork and just three states generate nearly 90% of online casino revenue.
SOFTSWISS projects North America will be the fastest-growing major online gambling market through 2028, while Europe remains larger but faces heavier regulation, tax pressure, and product limits.
For the US, the takeaway is familiar: Growth is real, but it is still concentrated in a handful of states.
A new SOFTSWISS iGaming Trends 2027 report, cited by iGaming Business, says global online gambling gross gaming revenue (GGR) will rise from $349 billion in 2026 to $415.5 billion in 2028. The report also says mobile will do more of the lifting, with online’s share of onshore GGR climbing from 45% to 78% over that span.
North America growing fastest, but US still fragmented
SOFTSWISS forecasts North American online gambling GGR will increase from $58.1 billion in 2026 to $76.6 billion in 2028, a 15% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). That outpaces Europe’s projected 6% CAGR, even though Europe remains the largest regulated online market by total size.
The report says the US online market is still highly uneven. Full online casino authorization exists in only seven states, while sports betting is operational in 38 states and Washington D.C. US online GGR grew 27.6% in 2025 to a record $10.74 billion, with Michigan, New Jersey and Pennsylvania accounting for nearly 90% of that total.
That concentration helps explain why the next phase of US growth may depend less on existing leaders getting bigger and more on whether additional states legalize real-money online casinos.
As Brendan Bussmann, managing partner at B Global, said in the report:
“The US market has and always will be a marathon and not a sprint.”
Europe’s tighter rules offer a contrast for US policymakers
Europe is projected to grow from $85.3 billion in 2026 to $95.2 billion in 2028, but the report says operators there are dealing with more intrusive taxation and product restrictions.
Examples cited include limit-setting measures across 30 European jurisdictions, Germany’s slot stake cap and five-second spin delay, and a €1,000 monthly cross-operator deposit limit.
The UK is moving toward online slot stake caps of £5 and £2, while the Netherlands applies deposit checks at €700 per month for players over 24 and €300 for younger adults.
The report also points to channelization pressure, noting the Netherlands’ regulated share fell below 50% in the first half of 2025 and forecasting offshore GGR in Great Britain could rise 110% by 2028.
What comes next
The report’s broad message is that regulated growth is still available, but market design matters. North America looks strong on paper, yet US expansion remains tied to state-by-state politics. Abroad, SOFTSWISS argues that if taxes and player restrictions get too aggressive, consumers could drift toward unlicensed sites instead.
That makes the US outlook a bit of a balancing act: a faster-growing region than Europe, but one still leaning heavily on three mature online casino states to carry the load.
Based on reporting by Kathryn Evans for iGaming Business.
