How Technology Has Made Gambling a $73 Billion Industry How Technology Has Made Gambling a $73 Billion Industry
We are currently living in the halcyon days of online gambling with the market growing at such a rate that it’s expected to be worth a staggering $73.45 billion in 2024. The key driver in this growth has been the technical renaissance of online gambling which has opened the doors to a new breed of customers and a wider audience.
Experts are also predicting that more and more countries (and in the case of the US, more states) will legalize online gambling, providing another boost to the industry already growing alongside advances in digital technology. In this article we take an in-depth look at how the online gambling market is going to grow to unprecedented levels.
If you’re over the legal age for gambling in your country then you are only seconds away from placing a bet at any given time. Mobile apps have come a long way in the last 10 years and almost every major bookmaker on the planet has a state-of-the-art mobile app that’s available on all devices.
Sports betting is by far the biggest market for mobile consumers, with the vast majority of adults in the UK having bet on sports at least once in their lives. The number of people using a mobile phone or tablet to bet increased to 51 percent in 2017, according to the Gambling Commission. And with mobile devices becoming as powerful as most PCs, surely this trend will continue. From big bets to small accumulators, mobile gaming makes betting easy and accessible.
All major sports events aired in the UK are awash with advertising for online betting. Whether that be on the shirts of the players, the advertising in stadiums or by way of interactive advertisements urging people to bet, you’ll see it at any sporting event.
In addition, technology has advanced to a stage where avid gamblers can participate in casino games streamed from real land-based casinos and interact with players from all over the world.
The introduction of 5G mobile networks is expected to make holographic phone/video calls a reality and it will not be long until this technology is incorporated into the world of online gambling, with virtual reality already being used by some providers. ‘Live Beyond Live’ virtual reality casinos are slowly becoming a staple on some sites allowing customers to gain the ultimate immersive experience without ever leaving the comfort of their own home.
Europe is by far the most valuable region in the world for online gambling, with the continent representing $16.42 billion of the market in 2016. That is largely due to the widespread legality of the practice in Europe, specifically in the UK.
Although the British government regulates the industry in the country, the reach of online gambling is phenomenal in the UK. It’s impossible to go one day in the country without being exposed to some form of gambling advertising.
And the US looks set to follow its lead. Four American states have fully legalized online gambling, and more are expected to follow. Once Donald Trump is replaced as President and his government’s ties are cut with land-based casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson – who is militantly anti-online gambling – the industry is expected to thrive in the US.
Countries such as Japan are moving towards legalizing online casinos as well as a large number of African countries. The main draw for governments is its ability to generate further revenue to reinvest in public services such as schools, hospitals and transport.
Early online casinos and betting sites were incredibly primitive by today’s standards, but an industry with enormous resources has focused on ensuring their online sites utilize cutting edge technology.
Money deposits are instantaneous, and 24/7 customer support is already available to players. There have also been steps to make online gambling more interactive, with players allowed to chat with one another in play and also with the croupier.
For now, the pinnacle of online gambling is Live Casino, where players can link up with real-life dealers via video connection and bring the human casino experience to their living rooms. All the while, slots and RNG-powered games are becoming more engaging than ever, with hundreds being released weekly to tap into an increasingly broad range of niches. With all this available from the convenience of their own living room, few can argue with gamers preferring gambling at online gambling operators like this to the real thing.
These technological advances have already had an impact on land-based casinos, particularly those in Las Vegas that have reported losses in revenues and a drop in visitor numbers in recent years, attributing much of that to <href=”#22267622786a”>the rise in online gambling.
Regardless of how good a land-based casino is, the amount of games they can offer is based on the physical size of the establishment. Casinos such as The Bellagio boast about having over 2,300 video machines, but that’s a drop in the ocean compared to online providers.
Even modest online providers can now match that level of slot machine games available on their site, and the range of games is almost limitless online. If you want to play poker, baccarat, slot machines or bet on the latest soccer match you can do that all in the same place online.
No navigating busy casinos. No waiting for other gamers to finish. Simply playing what you want, where you want and how you want. Yet another reason that online gambling is flattening land-based betting and moving towards market domination.
In the UK, the Labour Party has vowed to crack down on the online gambling industry, but even if they get elected anytime soon – the juggernaut of online gambling will keep rumbling on. Its rate of growth in the UK alone is expected to continue in an upward trend as more players head online in droves and the world follows suit.
It’s entirely possible the online gambling industry will be worth $73.45 billion by 2024, but don’t be surprised if the reality actually exceeds that figure.
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