The Balkan gambling market worth 4.5 billion Euros and keeps growing

Especially the Balkan states are increasingly drawing a lot of interest, despite – or perhaps because – of the current global economic crisis.

And the key figures of the Balkan gambling market account for this interest: A market size of 4.5 billion euros (gross revenue), above-average popularity of gambling, particularly of sports betting, 130 million people, and the impending EU-membership of many states, just to mention a few. The consulting firm MECN has compiled a new study, “The Balkan Gambling Markets,” analyzing these exciting markets in great detail.

The Balkan gambling markets (Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania and Bulgaria) already have a remarkable market size, and most experts confirm that the Balkan markets have a great growth potential in the coming years:

A total gambling market of 4.5 billion euros.

Besides, more than 60% of the experts surveyed by MECN believe that the growth potential of the Balkan gambling market is great or even very great. Hardly any market insiders (only 3% all surveyed experts) believe the market has only a small growth potential.

According to market insiders, the betting and interactive sectors have the greatest growth potential in the Balkan gambling industry. On the whole, the experts believe that the Balkan nations will liberalize their gambling markets.

Some forerunners among the global key players in the retail and interactive gambling market are already getting established in the Balkan states. For example, Intralot is on the way to becoming a retail betting heavyweight in the region. Regarding interactive gambling, Sportingbet is already realizing about 4% of its business in Bulgaria whereas Bwin and Bet-at-home have just recently increased their focus and investments in the Balkan region.

According to the MECN survey, about 20%-30% of the operators surveyed are currently planning to increase their investment in the Balkans, primarily in Croatia, Romania, and Greece. The majority of the operators surveyed are currently in the process of developing their Balkan market strategy and evaluating whether/how to increase their investment and focus in the near future.

The report also added that more and more Internet operators are adding Balkan languages and currencies to their localized offerings. For example, nearly all major operators offer localized versions of their products in Turkey and Greece.

For this report MECN was able to gather some of the most renowned local market insiders and authors. The study can be obtained at: http://www.balkan-gambling.mecn.net