The 11 largest online gambling sites in the world have allowed people to play their favorite games from the comfort of their own homes. Online gambling also provides an easy and less intimidating way for newcomers to become familiar with the rules and norms of certain games through interactive tutorials and free play.
Online gambling is growing fast due to the increased penetration of smartphones, as mobile offers greater convenience for users, being a great time waster during short breaks or commutes. Mobile now accounts for a large percentage of the total turnover for most online operators. According to Research and Markets, the online gambling market was a $35.97 billion one in 2014 and is estimated to reach $66.59 billion by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 10.8%. Sports betting is also growing in popularity, which along with casino sites, make the most money. The number of countries that have legalized online gambling has also increased to 80, with Europe being the largest online gambling market in the world. Many U.S states have also legalized online gambling.
Gambling or playing games of chance hold appeal to many people, some of whom hope that lightning will strike them and provide them with a hefty windfall. For others, it’s the allure of trying to beat the games, figuring out some method whereby they can gain a statistical advantage over the house. Figuring out how to beat the house has even attracted the attention of scientists, some of whom used chaos theory to shift the odds in their favor while playing roulette, in a study that was published in the journal Chaos. However, the method can easily be disrupted by casinos making minor adjustments to their games, and big losses are always a possibility even when the odds are in your favor.
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Online gambling is largely regarded as safe, as players are not dealing with cash around other players, and there is little incentive for the largest online gambling sites to try anything shady and disrupt their cash cows; they’re going to make plenty of money without trying to cheat players out of more. Many gambling websites have also implemented responsible gambling features, which prevent users from financial distress through setting a loss limit on their account, ensuring that they can only use their discretionary funds and don’t go crazy trying to recoup any losses. These websites also have protection checks to ensure that the user’s data and transactions are kept safe and secure. For further reading, check out our list of the 11 countries with the highest gambling losses in the world.
It’s somewhat surprising that despite the massive growth in online and mobile casino gaming, traditional brick-and-mortar casino operators like Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS), MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM), Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd (ADR) (NASDAQ:MPEL), Caesars Entertainment Corp (NASDAQ:CZR), and Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) have made little effort to cash in on their casino pedigrees and launch full-blown online casinos. Wynn Resorts does have an app which allows for mobile sports betting and horse race betting anywhere in Nevada, but other casino games are absent and players outside of Nevada are out of luck. And while Las Vegas Sands made efforts to build an online casino presence in the U.K, it has since become an opponent of online gambling, with the company’s billionaire Chairman and CEO Sheldon Aldeson, a major Trump donor, vowing to spend whatever it takes to ban online gambling in the U.S.
Given the already murky legality of online gambling in the U.S, that possibly explains why established brick-and-mortar casinos have been relatively hesitant to dip their toes too far into the online gambling waters. Some states, including Nevada, have legalized it, but it’s explicitly illegal in many other states. Regardless, major casino names are nowhere to be found on our list, and may be so far behind the eight ball at this point that a major acquisition of one of the companies on the list could be their only way to make up the ground, if indeed they do decide to make a bigger push online.
In the list, beginning on the next page, we have listed the 11 largest online gambling sites in the world. We have collated gambling website data from gamblingsites.net and grizzlygambling.com, and have ranked them based on their global Alexa ranks. The rank is calculated by taking into account the average daily visitors to a website and its pageviews over the past 3 months.
11. casino.com
Alexa Rank 12,350
With an Alexa Rank of 12,350, casino.com ranks 11th on our list of the 11 largest online gambling sites in the world. Casino.com has a worldwide presence, with traffic from the UK, Australia, Canada, Italy, New Zealand, and Africa, among other areas. The website offers a variety of online games to choose from and also has a loyalty points scheme that offers rewards for continued play. The website belongs to Mansion Ltd., a leading name in online casino, and is licensed and regulated by the UK and Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner.
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10. Sportsinteraction.com
Alexa Rank: 12,111
Launched in 1997, sportsinteraction.com is an online gambling site offering betting on horse racing, casino games, poker, and sports betting. A popular online gambling website in Canada, the website receives almost all of its traffic from that country.
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9. Leovegas.com
Alexa Rank 11,457
We are continuing our list of largest online gambling sites in the world with this website that receives a large amount of traffic from Canada, Germany and Sweden. Casino, live casino and sports – you can choose from a wide range of games available on the website. According to its website, LeoVegas set a world record with a mobile win of €7.9 million.
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8. covers.com
Alexa Rank: 11,361
With more than 45 million visits a year, covers.com is a popular sports betting website. Created in 1995, the website also offers information about sports gaming and has a large number of visitors from the United States and Venezuela.
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7. 888casino
Alexa Rank: 7,368
We are continuing our list of largest online gambling sites in the world with 888casino that is a part of the 888 holdings group, which operates several gambling websites. Started in 1997, the website offers 270 games ranging from slots, classic slots, multi-line slots and progressive mega jackpot slot games. 888casino is available in 18 languages and licensed by the Government of Gibraltar. The website receives 52% of its traffic from the UK and 22% from Germany.
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6. Unibet.com
Alexa Rank: 6,221
Started in 1997, Unibet is part of the Kindred Group, which is one of the largest online gambling companies in the world. It has more than 15 million customers across 100 markets. Unibet gets most of its traffic from Norway, Sweden and Finland. The website offers online casino, poker, bingo, sports betting, scratch cards, live betting, and more.
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5. betfair.com
Alexa Rank: 2,977
Betfair.com has a large presence in the UK, with more than 47% of the total visitors coming from the region. Brazil, Ireland, and the Netherlands are some of the other countries where the website is popular. Betfair.com is a leader in the online, mobile and sports markets. The company recently merged with paddypower.com, creating one of the biggest online gambling companies in the world.
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4. williamhill.com
Alexa Rank: 2,495
Williamhill.com ranks 4th in our list of largest online gambling sites in the world. It is a popular website in the UK. Through this website, one can engage in the playing of a number of different activities, including sports betting on events taking place in the UK and worldwide. Other opportunities offered are casino, bingo and poker, with bonus offers including William Hill’s free bet.
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3. bet-at-home.com
Alexa Rank: 2,331
Bet-at-home ranks third in our list of largest online gambling sites in the world. It is one of the most visited online gambling sites in Germany and Poland. One of the leading websites in Europe, bet at home.com was formed in 1999 and offers live casino, games, virtual, poker, and more. Bet-at-home.com has offices located in Germany, Austria, Malta and Gibraltar.
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2. pch.com
Alexa Rank: 1,597
We are continuing our list of largest online gambling sites in the world with Pch.com, that has a large number of visitors from the U.S. The website offers free online games from a variety of categories like arcade, cards and more. The company has awarded over $280 million in prizes and has more than 10 million unique monthly visitors to its website. PCHgames is part of Publishers Clearing House, which is a multi-channel direct marketer and a leading provider of digital entertainment based in New York.
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1. bet365.com
Alexa Rank: 116
With an Alexa rank of 116, bet365.com ranks first on our list of the 11 largest online gambling sites in the world. Bet365 is the world’s largest online gambling company, with over 22 million customers. The website operates casino, games, Vegas, poker and bingo rooms and is regulated by the Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner. Started in 1974, bet365 has more than 10 million customers from 200 different countries. The website receives loads of traffic from Germany, Italy, Brazil, Spain, India and many other countries.
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Disclosure: None
