The Biggest Markets in Smartphone Gaming

We can define a “market” in so many ways. It can refer to demographics like country, gender, yet it can also refer to betting types and games that gamblers play. When you take a bonus like Vulkan Bet 50 free spins, you automatically become part of that market. 

The biggest market right now is the mobile market. There are more people playing on phone devices than on desktops or laptops. We can still break down the mobile market – and that is what we will do today.

Market by Region

Asia leads the mobile gaming market among all regions. Asian gamers spend an average of 19 minutes a day. Trailing after Asia is the European market, where users spend 18.1 minutes per day. Third is Africa at 17.3 minutes. 

37% of Asian gamers are female. As far as country goes, below is a list of the top countries that make up the top markets in Asia. 

  • Taiwan
  • Indonesia
  • Philippines
  • Korea
  • Malaysia
  • Vietnam
  • Thailand
  • India

Over 50% of gamers are in India, but the largest markets in terms of revenue are Korea and Japan. 

Market by Genre

The mobile market games had a revenue of $215 billion in 2022. Most of the income is from in-app purchases. $68 billion of this came from ads. Paid apps come third, and experts project that the mobile gaming industry will reach $352 billion by 2027. 

The most profitable of all game genres is RPG or role-playing games, such as Diablo and the like. RPG games accounted for a total of 30% of all mobile gaming income in 2022. Experts estimate that the RPG genre will reach a revenue of $98 billion in 2027. 

Top Grossing Mobile Games

Here is a quick list of the top-grossing games on mobile for 2022. 

  • Honor of Kings – $1.65 billion 
  • Genshin Impact – $1.25 billion
  • PUBG Mobile – $1.12 billion
  • Candy Crush Saga – $1.00 billion
  • Roblox – $0.82 billion
  • Coin Master – $0.76 billion
  • Pokemon Go – $0.64 billion
  • Monster Strike 0.52
  • Romance of Three Kingdoms – $0.50 billion
  • Uma Musume Pretty Derby – $0.49 billion

Honour of Kings is a MOBA game like PUBG. However, its main market is China. On the other hand, Genshin Impact is an action RPG game that also hails from China. 

Released in 2015, Honor of Kings took a while to reach an international audience. The international adaptation of the game is Arena of Valor, which was released sometime in 2020.  

Genshin Impact, meanwhile, is a fantasy game that occurs in the fictional world of Teyvat. Its appeal comes from its gameplay — an open-world scenario. Why is it different you may ask? The player can switch characters that have different abilities.

Are Casino Games Earning Money?

Yes, mobile casino apps are earning money. The revenue of the casino market will be at its peak by the end of 2023. Experts project that it will increase by 8.37% in 2027.

Both sports betting and casino gambling are on a roll. Over the years, we have seen a massive influx of new casinos and sports betting sites. Even poker sites proliferated over the years, and more and more players globally are willing to invest or pay to get entertained.

The gambling industry understands that the market wants games on mobile, not on PCs. As such, game developers, sports books, and casinos also make it a point to offer apps for their users. The thing I that these apps are not available in the official store of the operating system.

You will not likely find a gambling app in the Apple Store or Google Play Store. These apps are banned because they are gambling apps. Nevertheless, you can download the application from the casino’s site or the site of the sportsbook.

You must allow your phone to install unknown apps to make these apps work. After that, you can use the app as you would normally use any other app. But you should do so only if it is a trustworthy platform. Be careful with shady sites because they may only claim to be legitimate, but for example, operate without a license – and that’s a first red flag.

The gaming market has changed, and it has changed so drastically that game developers—all of them—are trying the best they can to penetrate the mobile market to get a slice of the pie. It is why we users see an influx of games on iOS and Android. 

What will happen next? The mobile gaming industry is projected to reach an annual revenue of $286 billion by the end of 2023. The revenue will grow by 7% annually. It means that phone users will get more inundated by these games. Is it a good thing or a bad thing? You decide.