Elephant Treasure

About Elephant Treasure

Eilers & Krejcik Gaming (EKG) estimates that bettors will plunk down $40.5 billion on the NFL this season through regulated channels. Traditional sportsbooks are projected to capture $31.7 billion of that total, compared to a handle analog of $8.4 billion for prediction markets—a 79% to 21% split in favor of legacy operators.

Handle analog is a metric used as a cleaner comparison between sportsbooks and prediction markets because the latter’s volume doesn’t compare evenly with sportsbook handle.

Based on its projections, EKG sees the overall sports wagering industry growing 8% year-over-year, outpacing the current baseline growth rate of 5% (a figure that strips out temporary boosts from the 2026 World Cup).

About Elephant Treasure

The first quarter of 2026 saw a total industry GGY of £4.4 billion including lotteries, or £3.4 billion excluding lotteries.

As of 31 March 2026, there were 2,154 licensed gambling operators, marking a 1.1% decline on the previous year. However the number of separately licensed gambling activities edged up 0.4% to 3,097. 

The land-based gambling sector, comprising adult gaming centres (AGCs), betting shops, bingo halls and casinos, produced £4.9 billion in GGY over the year, marking a 1.1% yearly increase.

About Elephant Treasure

Evoke also closed 200 of its William Hill stores in April of this year for the same reason.

Stella David, CEO of Entain, has also warned against the potential rise of MGD to Entain’s operations, forecasting a increamse of £100 million in operational costs, if the policy were to go through. 

In a letter addressed to UK Prime Minister last week, David emphasised the impact such a tax rise would have on high street workers and communities