The gambling industry has taken giant strides away from where it was five years ago. It has experienced unprecedented changes and at the center of it all.
Let’s take a look at online casinos, their benefits, trends, and how much they have developed over the last five years.
Online Gambling Statistics
26% of the world’s population participate in one gambling activity or the other on canadian casino online sites and other international casinos. What this means is that there are about 1.6 billion gamblers in the world and another 4.2 billion individuals gamble at least once annually.
As of 2019, the world’s online gambling industry was valued at over $50 billion. This figure has only increased since then and it is expected to increase at 11.5% CAGR annually until 2027. At that rate, it will be worth about $100 billion by then.
Online Gambling Trends: Past Five Years
The growth of the online gambling industry has been in line with technological advancements. As a result, the door has been left open for innovators to bring up new trends. Below are the most remarkable developments in the services of online casinos in recent years:
Electoral Gambling
In the last few years, a huge number of people have become interested in electoral gambling. In this type of online gambling, people have the chance to place bets on the politicians who would win elections.
For example, bets worth over $1 billion were placed on the 2020 contest between Donald Trump and Joe Biden globally. Also, three gaming companies will be staking $62 million on the results of the 2022 Florida elections.
The Acceptance of Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrencies have become increasingly popular in recent years. But despite their emergence as a new type of currency, not all organizations and governments have accepted them.
Fortunately, the online gambling industry was quick to accept cryptocurrency as a means of payment. Gamblers are allowed to perform transactions using popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and more.
What’s more, the online gambling industry now has platforms specifically created for cryptocurrency.
The End of Scientific Gambling
As the popularity of sports betting continues to rise, it becomes more likely that it would depose scientific gambling. The difficulty of the processes of scientific gambling has been a major issue.
On the other hand, there is nothing complicated about sports betting. Players only have to place bets on events and then wait for their results.
Also, the social aspect of online gaming platforms is one of the major reasons for their immense growth. Scientific gaming simply does not have this.
New Models
The companies that make up the online gambling industry have been involved in a battle for supremacy for a while now. This rivalry has led to the creation of new models for online gambling. With these developments, online gaming companies hope to boost their expansion drives.
For example, Playboy aims to further establish itself in the Indian market with the release of a new mobile casino game. By making this investment in Asia, the company is trying to create a market share away from the tough competition in the North American market.
Mergers
Another interesting trend in the online gaming industry is the emergence of mergers. More establishments are turning to mergers as a means of getting hold of a larger market share and raise funds for their growth. In other words, companies are seeing mergers as a means of securing their businesses. The outcome of these mergers is the creation of giant companies that are making their marks on the market.
Technologies That Would Change Online Gaming
After more than two decades since online casinos were introduced, the industry is ready to evolve again thanks to some fantastic innovations. We have listed some of them below:
Smartwatches
Mobile casinos have has a significant effect on the gambling industry. They allowed online punters to shift from playing casino games on desktops to playing on their smartphones and tablets. However, things can be taken a step further with mobile casino games for smartwatches.
Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality
The online gaming industry has always shown its readiness to embrace new technology in a bid to provide players with a better gaming experience. Though live dealer games have improved a lot, technologies such as AR and VR are no doubt the future of online gaming.
They will give online gamers the chance to play the most realistic games and win real money from the comfort of their homes. With the aid of special glasses, videos, sound effects, and images, the immediate environment of players will be transformed into casinos.
Players will easily forget that they are in their homes when they look around and see dealers in action or a drunk stumbling around. These technologies are already in development but they won’t be ready until after a few more years.
The Benefits of Online Gambling
Due to the immense growth, several opportunities are now available in the online gambling industry. We like to note that these opportunities have never been heard of in brick-and-mortar casinos.
Firstly, casino lovers no longer have to take long rides just to play slots, blackjack, roulette, and other casino games. Players can now access the best casino games right in their homes. All that is needed is a good internet connection and a computer or smartphone.
Also, casino players don’t have to break the bank to get some gambling action. Online casinos have low minimum betting limits that help players gamble in a controlled manner.
Additionally, the rapid growth of online casinos means that casino gaming is no longer meant for the rich alone. Anyone with a computer or smartphone can play casino games for free or with real money.
Conclusion
The evolution of online casinos in the last five years has been incredible and they’ve consistently changed how people gamble. Looking at the future, it is clear that things can only get better from here.
