The Online Gambling Industry's Mobile Madness: Growth and Huge Traffic Challenges

17 September 2026

The global online gambling market continues its meteoric rise, with projections showing it could more than double in size by 2031. A new report by Mordor Intelligence estimates the market to be worth USD 121.93 billion in 2026, up from USD 107.36 billion in 2025. The firm expects revenues to reach a staggering USD 211.99 billion by the end of the decade, fuelled by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.99% over 2026–2031.

Yet as the market grows, so does the competition for online bettors' time and attention. A key battleground is mobile – and operators know it. In 2025, mobile and tablet gaming already accounted for 57.14% of total online gambling revenues, according to Mordor. The segment is set to post the fastest CAGR of any online gambling category at 14.65% between 2026 and 2031.

That's no small number, even in the mobile-first U.S. market, where mobile held 80.13% of the USD 5.95 billion online gambling market in 2025. Mordor projects U.S. revenues to soar to USD 14.79 billion by 2031, with mobile continuing to dominate at a 12.44% CAGR.

Regulatory changes, the rollout of 5G networks and the proliferation of smartphones are all driving growth in Asia as well, a market Grand View Research considers the fastest growing regional gambling market. The firm also notes that the mobile device segment is expected to record a significant CAGR due to the convenience of gambling on mobile devices. Increased adoption of mobile-first gambling platforms, along with secure digital payments, live dealer features and personalized gaming experiences, are all key trends expected to shape the market in the forecast period.

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The viral success of sports betting in the U.S. has given online gambling a boost, but the total addressable market is still extremely fragmented. In the U.S., FanDuel and DraftKings control 70% of the market between them, notes Mordor. Internationally, the concentration remains regionally variable. A report from Blask quoted by Yogonet found the UK and Turkey were the only two of 133 tracked markets where the top 10 brands failed to control the majority of iGaming demand. In the UK, the top 10 held 45.3% of traffic over the 12 months to April 2026. In Turkey, the figure was 49.9%. Both markets also had the lowest top 5 brand market shares anywhere: 31.7% and 33.9% respectively.

That makes achieving top rankings on iGaming traffic charts an ever more important goal for operators. In 2026's traffic data, published by iGaming News Today, Stake.com topped the charts with roughly 121.5 million monthly visits. SportyBet trailed with 52.1 million, Hollywoodbets with 37.7 million, and Bet365 ahead of fourth place with 32.5 million. It's worth noting that those figures are based primarily on browser-based traffic and are an imperfect measure of native mobile app usage.

Nonetheless, mobile is critical to operator success in 2026. The rising stars of the sector are those focused on slick mobile design, localised and low-friction payment setups, especially in key markets like Africa, Asia and Latin America. Simplified onboarding processes are increasing betting participation, with operators responding to tight competition for new users by making the signup process as quick and seamless as possible. These trends counteract the alternative expansion strategy of growing regional footprints, gaining market share in established gambling jurisdictions like the UK.