The gambling industry has been showing steady growth for many years. And this is largely facilitated by the online gambling segment. With the widespread digitalisation and proliferation of smartphones and the Internet, more customers are joining online casinos and sports betting platforms.
In 2021, the online gambling industry continues to actively develop. How did this sector survive the pandemic? What are the forecasts of experts and what contributes to the growth of the industry? What technology is being actively used and will be used in the future? Let’s answer all these questions further in this post.
How has the industry developed in recent years?
Due to the “pandemic crisis,” there was a decline or slower growth in many business segments; however, the gambling industry bypassed this. Widespread lockdowns and the shift to remote work systems have forced the population to spend more time at home. As a result, users began to surf the Internet more than many industry players took advantage of. Bookmakers and casinos began to actively buy ads on popular resources, such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Telegram, etc. And this has resulted in the rapid development of the industry.
Until now, advertising of casinos and sports betting platforms is available on different sites. Gambling companies are constantly improving the level of their advertising and expanding traffic channels, entering new platforms. And this marketing approach works. Having filled almost all the media space, bookmakers and casinos attract a huge audience to their sites/applications and do everything to make them regular customers. The influx of new customers and constant support of the existing base allow gambling projects to constantly develop and scale their businesses.
According to Statista calculations, the online gambling industry will show a CAGR of 7.91% between 2019 and 2026. Experts also estimated the size of the market. At the end of 2020, it was 66.7 billion dollars, and by 2023, this figure will reach 92.9 billion.
At the same time, Zillion Project analysts believe that the online segment will be the main driver of the gambling industry’s growth. “The pandemic has only accelerated the influx of users to online casinos and bookmakers. This transition from classic offline points has been smoothly happening in recent years. Online gambling has been under active development for more than a decade, and while regions with a weak presence remain, such as Latin America, Africa, and Eastern Europe, growth will continue.”
How is the industry developing in 2021?
According to experts from H2 Gambling Capital, between 2018 and 2019, the market structure looked like this: the largest share of the online gambling market was on sports betting and similar events. At the same time, betting occupied 48.7 percent of the market, which in monetary terms amounted to more than 19.5 billion euros in terms of revenue. In the second place, there was the online casino industry (their share was 26.8 percent and 10.7 billion euros in revenue). Then there were lottery draws (8.9 percent), poker (6.2 percent), quests, and loot boxes (5.1 percent). And, finally, there were bingo draws (1.8 percent).
To date, the percentage indicators of presence in the industry have not changed much and generally reflect the overall picture. Sports betting and online casinos are still among the leaders in 2021. And nothing is expected to change in 2022. However, many people are waiting for the further growth and development of the industry, which will influence the income level.
What technologies are used in 2021?
New technologies are actively used in the economic and banking spheres; they affect the development of medicine, education, tourism, and many high-tech solutions to help diversify leisure. The gambling industry is no exception either. About 30 years ago, the first online casinos appeared, and ten years later, the mobile gambling era started. However, there are way more innovative strategies and solutions that have revolutionised the gambling market and will continue to do so in the near future.
Technology that has changed casinos
Among the most notable innovations of the past that have revolutionised the industry are as follows:
- Club cards that help you keep track of your betting history – They are used in board games and pokies, as a key to a hotel room, and a credit card to pay for drinks;
- Shuffle machines – Automatic shufflers make the gameplay smoother and exclude human influence on its result;
- Cashless game systems;
- Live dealer games that recreate the setting of classic casinos and involve the use of video cameras and motion sensors;
- Video slots and mobile gambling games have become available to millions of people.
Technology that is changing casinos
The introduction of new IT solutions into the gambling industry gives top online casinos from the Casinoluck.ca ratings the opportunity to provide players with more comfortable gameplay conditions and stand out from the crowd. Thus, operators are actively using RFID technology, which allows for the identification of objects using radio signals. The new solutions help to study the gameplay process, monitor the behaviour of users, determine the location of the token and turn it off in case of loss.
Responsible gambling casinos employ special face recognition and personal identification systems. Thus, the establishments are safeguarded from fraudsters, do not allow minors and people prone to enter gambling addiction into the halls.
Online casinos are introducing chatbots and special applications that people can use to book a table, place bets, and deal with tech issues. Gamification technology creates extra interactive opportunities. Industry experts believe that the next breakthrough in the gambling industry will come on par with the 5G Internet, the use of blockchain technologies, AR, VR, and the emergence of new types of mobile applications for gamblers. Given the rapid pace of development, we won’t have to wait too long.
Please play responsibly. For more information and advice visit www.begambleaware.org
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