Size of the table: Just how big is world’s gambling business? Part I
by Prof. C. A. Saliya The first of a five-part series on the business of gambling: legal, illegal, and everything murky in between. It is a Friday evening in Colombo. On the waterfront, a queue of well-dressed tourists files past a doorman and into the blinking lights of a casino floor, where a croupier is […]
The gambling business is a massive industry, encompassing legal, illegal, and less regulated forms. In Colombo, tourists visit licensed casinos, locals gamble at a racetrack, and a teenager trades stocks via a mobile app. The legal gambling market is worth an estimated $328 billion annually, with projections reaching nearly $580 billion by 2030.
However, this figure likely represents only a portion of the total gambling economy, as an estimated $5.9 trillion was wagered online in 2025 through unregulated sources. This shadow industry is the third-largest economy globally, outpaced only by the United States and China. In the United States, illegal gambling operators reportedly earned nearly $100 billion annually, even as legal betting options proliferate.
Globally, roughly 40 countries completely prohibit gambling, while many others maintain a complex regulatory landscape. Despite seemingly contradictory approaches, legalizing gambling in some jurisdictions has led to the growth of the black market, as operators adapt to changing regulations and seek new customers. Gambling has a long history, with roots in ancient civilizations and literary works dating back thousands of years.
Written by urgent.news from The Island Sri Lanka's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
