Europe’s Major Gambling Markets: Demographic Divides and Behavioural Fault Lines

A fresh comparison of raw demographic inputs from Blask, examined alongside the markets singled out in the EGBA’s 2023 overview, shows just how differently Europeans approach online gambling — not only in scale, but in who plays and why.

Europe’s gambling heavyweights — Italy, the UK, Germany, France, and Spain — dominate the continent’s revenue landscape according to the EGBA’s 2023 figures, yet the customer profiles behind those numbers, illuminated by Blask’s datasets, point to sharply contrasting market cultures.

In France, 18- to 24-year-olds now represent 30% of online players, making them the single largest age group. The French regulator ANJ notes that the player population is also becoming “noticeably more female,” indicating that the online sector is widening beyond its formerly male-centric foundation.

The UK reflects an equally pronounced youthful shift, with 55% of players under 35.

Germany, while also skewing young, shows its biggest cluster slightly older: 34% of German players fall between 35 and 44, forming the market’s largest segment. Yet this renewal in player composition has not countered a significant mid-year contraction in German sports betting, where stakes dropped more than 13% in Q2.

Spain’s most substantial cohort is the 25–34 bracket (35%), shaping a market in transition.

National online GGR climbed to roughly €1.45 billion in 2024, with online casino overtaking sports betting for the first time. Nonetheless, state lotteries and regional casinos continue to frame Spain’s entrenched gambling traditions.

Italy, by contrast, features an ageing general gambling population. Only 15% of Italian players are 18–24, while both the 45–54 and 25–34 groups account for 25% each. But this relatively older demographic coexists with a fast-modernising online sector. Eurispes reports that Italy’s betting turnover increased 6.5% year-on-year, surpassing €157 billion in 2024, of which €92 billion was wagered digitally. Crucially, Italians aged 18–34 now make up more than half of all active online accounts, signalling that the country’s digital gambling segment is rejuvenating even as the wider consumer base remains older.

These generational distinctions also help clarify the uneven spread of online adoption highlighted in the EGBA’s 2023 comparison: the UK and Nordic countries show very high online penetration, while Italy remains far more dependent on physical outlets. Spain’s online casino expansion contrasts with its lottery-led mainstream landscape. The demographic split is not merely cultural — it is behavioural.

Money, Motivation, and the Meaning Behind a Bet

Going deeper into player intent reveals an even wider divergence.

In Spain, 44% say they bet on sports primarily to earn money. Germany mirrors this pattern, with 40% identifying profit as their leading motive, followed by “adrenaline” and “excitement” drivers that sit in the high 20s and 30s.

In the UK, the significance of money almost disappears. Only 15% list profit as their main reason — the lowest proportion among all countries examined. Instead, convenience dominates, with a quarter of British players citing “easy / no need to leave home” as their principal motivation. The UK’s open digital market has normalised gambling as a frictionless extension of watching sports, aided by in-play betting and mobile integration.

French behaviour reflects similar distance from financial ambitions. Just 20% of French players gamble for monetary gain, many describing gambling as a casual leisure activity rather than a competitive pursuit.

Italy stands apart for both the intensity and diversity of motivations. Italian bettors report some of the highest levels of “adrenaline” (40%), “escaping routine” (45%), and betting to make sports more exciting (60%). Moreover, half of Italian sports bettors say they wager to support a favourite team, a proportion unmatched elsewhere in the comparison.

These contrasting motivations portray five markets with fundamentally different relationships to risk, reward, competition, and leisure: Spain and Germany appear more transactional; the UK more convenience-oriented; France more relaxed and socially detached; and Italy driven by deep-rooted sporting passion and emotional engagement.

The Final Divide: Risk Profiles

Where motivations are strongest, risk tends to follow. Italy — and to a lesser extent Spain — exhibits the most concerning indicators. Germany sits at the opposite end.

Germany reports 91% of players as non-problem gamblers and only 2% as problem gamblers, establishing the lowest risk levels among the countries analysed.

France and the UK fall in the middle, with about half of players classified as non-problem gamblers and 5% identifying as problem gamblers in both markets. The ANJ notes that France’s GGR continues to rise, but the country still occupies the lower band of growth within Europe. Five years after its creation, the ANJ continues pressing for its regulatory strategies to deliver concrete progress in a market still dominated by the giants FDJ United and PMU.

Italy and Spain show more pronounced vulnerability. Italy records the highest problem-gambling rate at 10%, with an additional 10% moderate-risk. National estimates indicate that roughly 1.5 million Italians now present problematic gambling behaviour, though only a small minority access treatment — raising urgent questions about the efficacy of tools such as self-exclusion systems and spending caps.

Spain, according to Blask’s data, registers 3% problem gamblers and 7% moderate-risk, rates that remain well above Germany’s despite being lower than Italy’s.

What Europeans Play — and What They Don’t

Preferences across gambling products introduce yet another layer of contrast.

Sports betting dominates universally, though unevenly: usage spans from 70% in Italy down to around 30% in the UK and France.

Online casino participation produces sharper divisions. Germany and Italy show deep engagement, with around half of players using casino or live-dealer formats. The UK, by comparison, sits at 20%, and France — where online casino games are prohibited — sees only 10% involvement.

Spain displays a more varied profile: sports betting leads, but 30% engage with casino products and 25% with lotteries, while esports betting continues to gain momentum.

Despite these contrasts, lottery participation remains surprisingly even across all five markets, with roughly one in four players taking part — reinforcing its status as a universal, low-risk entry point.

Italy again stands out as an outlier in virtual sports, attracting 25% of bettors, whereas France and Germany remain below 5%.

Together, these patterns depict a continent united by scale but divided by cultural habits, economic motives, emotional triggers, and risk exposure — five gambling nations shaped not just by regulation and revenue, but by who bets, why they do it, and what they choose to play.

By fLEXI tEAM