Online gambling has taken a massive leap in the last year, very largely in part due to the pandemic lockdowns. Given that people couldn’t access land-based and traditional casinos, they turned to online casinos to fill in the game. In fact, Great Britain alone saw a 17.5% increase in online gambling from 2019 to 2020, which is not an insignificant number.
Of course, it wasn’t only the lockdowns that contributed to this increase, but online casinos taking advantage of the lockdowns to get even better. That could be a variety of things from better payment services, loyalty programs, or simply just easier access and a better atmosphere.
In fact, this trend isn’t likely to grow, and market analysis forecasts of online casinos predict an 11.5% in compound annual growth rate from 2020 to 2070. Furthermore, the revenue forecast for 2070 is a whopping $127.3 billion for online gambling.
Each online casino, such as the ones recommended by https://theinternetslots.com/ca/online-casino-bonuses/, has its own way of attracting and, more importantly, keeping new players.
To that end, let’s look at some of the trends that are likely to propel online casinos higher and higher for the rest of 2021 and beyond.
AR and VR Gaming
This may sound strange, but the truth is that AR and VR have, and will play a big role in the development of online casinos.
As a lot of players feel more comfortable with live dealers, AR and VR technology can help expand on this need to feel more connected to the game and the table. By using VR headsets, players can be placed in a virtual environment that perfectly represents a traditional land-based casino. As such, they can look at other players and the dealer, and feel like they are directly there in the game.
AR technology also provides a close simile to a traditional online casino: while it doesn’t technically immerse the player in the environment, it can recreate aspects of online casinos in the player’s own home. For example, if they sit at their dinner table, an AR headset might allow them to see the cards played out or a roulette wheel spin in front of them.
That being said, there is somewhat of a hurdle due to the cost of AR and VR technology. That being said, both are becoming cheaper each month. For some who are willing to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars a year gambling, these headsets might be a worthy investment.
Cryptocurrencies
As the world progresses more and more into the digital age, cryptocurrencies have become more and more ubiquitous. This is similarly the case with online casinos, as cryptos, and blockchain tech in general, make online payments much easier and much faster. For online casinos, this can be a key contributor to players gambling there.
There is also the hidden benefit of enhanced privacy and security.
Compared to traditional payment methods with a credit card that requires the CC info, or your personal info, cryptocurrencies don’t have that issue. Instead, users can remain mostly anonymous and safe since they don’t need to enter any personally-identifying information.
This is important since online casinos have traditionally had a bad reputation when it comes to the privacy and security of that sort of information. With the more widespread use of cryptocurrency, online casinos can regain trust and loyalty with their player base at a truly minimal cost (ergo increasing their dominance compared to traditional casinos).
Expanded Global Access
One of the advantages provided by crypto is a lower barrier of entry for people who might traditionally have a hard time accessing casinos. This applies not only to land-based casinos but also, generally speaking, to places where there are strict laws and regulations around gambling.
In countries where regulations are tight such as Taiwan, or that outright ban gambling such as the United Arab Emirates, there’s been a large uptick of online casino gaming.
Since people are given anonymity, they don’t run afoul of their nation’s rules and regulations, and therefore people can essentially gamble from anywhere in the world. Granted, the skirting of the law is not really a good thing, and ideally, people shouldn’t take part in activities considered illegal in their countries, but this does speak directly to the increase in online gambling and helps sets the trend for the future.
Reputation
A hidden disease within gambling is gambling addiction, and that has traditionally been ignored by most casino and gambling operators, that is, until now.
Online casinos have taken more steps to address problem gambling and gambling addiction for their players. This can come in many forms, such as monetary and time limits on their gambling.
By promoting more responsible gambling, casinos are regaining a good reputation around gambling and themselves, which ultimately leads to things like mobile gambling apps gaining popularity.
New Gaming Experiences
While AR and VR are certainly at the forefront of new technology, they aren’t the only tech that will provide interesting new experiences or convenience.
For example, smartwatches could now be used for easier and more convenient gambling on the go. Or, we may see new games that have lower-skill requirements compared to things like poker for example. We may even say games that have more interactive elements, bringing them closer to traditional gaming experiences you might see on consoles.
Whatever it may be, online casinos will continue to innovate in terms of technology to offer new experiences to attract and maintain players.
