North America Projected to Outpace Europe in Online Gambling Growth Through 2028

The SOFTSWISS iGaming Trends 2027 report outlines specific forecasts for major regional markets, and North America stands out with the strongest projected expansion among large jurisdictions. According to the data, online gross gaming revenue in North America rises from $58.1 billion in 2026 to $76.6 billion in 2028, which equates to a 15 percent compound annual growth rate. This pace exceeds the trajectory mapped for other established regions and positions North America as the fastest-growing major online gambling market during the two-year window. Analysts compiling the figures note that the region's expansion stems from ongoing state-level regulatory developments alongside increasing consumer adoption of digital platforms. The same report places Europe's online gross gaming revenue at $85.3 billion in 2026, climbing to $95.2 billion by 2028 under a 6 percent CAGR. Global online gambling gross gaming revenue meanwhile moves from $349 billion in 2026 to $415.5 billion in 2028 at roughly 9 percent CAGR, with North America's contribution helping lift the worldwide total.

Regional Breakdown and Market Context

Those reviewing the projections see clear divergence between the two large markets. North America's higher CAGR reflects a market still adding new jurisdictions and operators, whereas Europe operates from a more mature base with slower incremental gains. The report isolates these trends without combining them into broader multi-year outlooks, keeping the focus on the 2026-2028 period specifically.

Observers examining the numbers point out that North America's starting base remains smaller than Europe's yet delivers larger percentage gains. This pattern aligns with historical sequences in other regulated sectors where early liberalization produces rapid revenue increases before stabilization occurs. The data further separates North America from smaller emerging markets, emphasizing its scale as one of the primary drivers behind global totals.

Mobile Platforms as Primary Growth Channel

The report attributes a substantial share of the projected increases to mobile platforms across all regions, though the effect appears most pronounced where regulatory access continues to widen. Mobile devices account for the majority of new player sessions and session lengths in the modeled scenarios, supporting higher engagement rates that feed directly into gross gaming revenue totals. Operators tracking similar patterns in existing markets report that smartphone and tablet usage now exceeds desktop activity by wide margins, a shift the SOFTSWISS projections incorporate into their forward estimates. Data within teh report shows mobile contributing to both acquisition and retention metrics, with seamless app experiences and push notifications cited as factors sustaining player activity. These elements combine with expanded payment options to reduce friction between decision and wager placement, thereby elevating overall market volume without requiring changes to game offerings themselves.

Global Figures and Comparative Rates

Worldwide totals in the report place online gambling gross gaming revenue on a steady upward path, yet the regional split reveals uneven contributions. North America's 15 percent CAGR contrasts with Europe's 6 percent figure, illustrating how differing regulatory timelines influence outcomes even within developed economies. The global 9 percent rate sits between these poles because it aggregates faster-growing areas with slower ones, creating an averaged trajectory that masks the standout performance in North America.

Figures reveal that absolute dollar growth in North America reaches $18.5 billion over the two years, compared with Europe's $9.9 billion increase. This absolute gap, paired with the percentage differential, underscores why the report singles out North America as the standout major market. The projections remain anchored to current regulatory trajectories and do not incorporate hypothetical policy shifts beyond those already in progress as of the report's release window.

Conclusion

The SOFTSWISS iGaming Trends 2027 report supplies concrete revenue targets and growth rates that allow direct comparison across regions. North America's projected climb from $58.1 billion to $76.6 billion at 15 percent CAGR, set against Europe's 6 percent advance and the global 9 percent benchmark, supplies a clear snapshot of near-term market dynamics driven in large part by mobile access. These figures stand as the central factual output of teh analysis, available for further review through coverage such as the summary published on PlayUSA.