Casinos & Gambling Around the World - Facts & Figures
Andrea
19 Aug 2021
Updated: 14 Nov 2023
Casino statistics by country
Which country has the most casinos in the world?
Unsurprisingly the United States (US) comes in as top for the country with the most casinos in the world. With over 1500 casinos the US has more than 8 times the number of casinos than any other country. Just over one-fifth of all the casinos in the US are located in Nevada, and over 100 of those are located in Las Vegas (or the infamously known ‘Sin City’). The states of Oklahoma, California and Colorado follow Nevada for the largest number of casinos in the US. Alaska, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont and Virginia are the only states in the US without any casinos.
Number of casinos by country - the top 10
According to Statista the top 10 ranked list of the number of casinos per country in 2011 is as follows:
- United States - 1511
- France - 189
- Russian Federation - 169
- The Netherlands - 167
- United Kingdom - 140
- Canada - 110
- Argentina - 79
- Estonia - 75
- South Africa - 45
- Czech Republic - 43
(This data is slightly questionable though as gambling was banned across most of Russia in 2009).
Where is the capital of casino gambling?
Based on 2019 revenue data from land-based casinos Macau is the capital of gambling, not Las Vegas. In fact, Macau has larger gambling revenue than Las Vegas.
Macau Gross Gaming Revenue (GDR) = $28.04 billion
Las Vegas GDR = $6.4 billion
Online Casino and Gambling Statistics
Countries by gambling profits - the top 10
According to Statista and various other data sources (such as the Gambling Commission and the Global Betting and Gaming Consultants (GBGC)) the top ten countries based on all gambling profits (both online and land-based) are as follows:
- China
- United States
- Japan
- Korea
- Germany
- United Kingdom
- France
- Spain
- Italy
- Canada
Countries by gambling losses per adult - the top 10
According to Statista and various other data sources (such as the Gambling Commission and the Global Betting and Gaming Consultants (GBGC)) the top ten countries based on the average amount of gambling losses per adult are as follows:
- Australia
- Singapore
- Ireland
- Finland
- United States
- New Zealand
- Canada
- Norway
- Italy
- United Kingdom
The small Mediterranean island of Malta follows close behind the United Kingdom
World’s Top 3 Upcoming Gambling Centres
1. Canada
As is fairly obvious by the full list of online Canadian casinos listed here, Canada is arguably the world’s next most upcoming casino and gambling centre.
This is helped by a relatively liberal approach to gambling and an innovative approach to gambling regulation.
2. Australia
Poker machines (or ‘pokies’) currently dominate the gambling and casino markets in Australia and can literally be found pretty much everywhere - including in clubs and pubs in some states.
Although online casinos are banned, sports betting in Australia is on the rise and is likely to continue to grow rapidly. Betfair Exchange launched their services in Australia in 2005 and are currently the only Betting Exchange service available in Australia. The growing sports betting industry in combination with the presence of Betfair Exchange presents the perfect opportunity for many people to make money online Matched Betting in Australia.
3. Cyprus (North)
Gambling is banned in China and this worked out well for Macau - where the majority of their visitors are from China and Hong Kong.
Macau now has a larger gambling revenue than Las Vegas and is officially the world’s capital of casinos and gambling.
Similarly to China, most forms of gambling are banned in Turkey, Israel, and most Middle Eastern countries (and recently also in Russia). If casinos are present, it tends to be the case that only foreign passport holders (tourists) are allowed to enter casino premises (e.g. in Egypt).
Following in Macau’s footsteps of offering an overseas option for casino entertainment and gambling to citizens of nearby countries where gambling is banned, the Northern part of Cyprus has developed its casino tourism industry. It is currently home to more than 30 casinos and the industry is likely to continue to expand.
