Trends that will shape the future of gambling
The online gambling industry has made a lot of progress in the two and a half decades that it has had. However, in the last few years, we have seen innovation starting to slow down and we no longer see as many groundbreaking changes as we did in the past.
Of course, innovation is needed for the industry to thrive and expand. In this article, you will find several important trends that, in my opinion, will be vital for the future development of the gambling industry.
Improvement of Mobile Platforms
Internet technology has been the driving force behind the rise of online gambling, with online casinos first appearing around the mid to late 90s, just when the Internet was becoming a widespread commercial service.
Over the years, we have witnessed multiple improvements to the industry, starting from the release of new games, to graphical and technical innovations, all the way to live dealer games, which, as of this writing, are the furthest the industry has advanced. But there is still a market that has not seen the attention that it deserves and has the potential to be much greater than it currently is. I am, of course, talking about mobile platforms.
Smartphones and tablets have changed the way we use the Internet. No longer do have to be chained to a desk in order to access the world wide web. Now we can simply pull out our mobile device and browse at our pleasure. Mobile casinos have started to appeal to a wider mobile audience, offering exclusive promotions to mobile users, and software providers have begun creating mobile versions of their more popular titles.
However, the mobile promotions are usually not up to par with other offerings and while it is nice to be able to play slot machines for mobile devices, there are still hundreds of online slots variations that are only accessible via a desktop PC. There are still many developer companies that offer desktop versions of their games to mobile players or have ignored them completely.
This is simply not a viable way to treat customers and we have already started to see a change in the status quo, with an ever-increasing number of online casinos starting to cater to their mobile user base. Smartphones and tablets have already changed many other markets for the better and there is no reason why it should not be the same for the online gambling industry. With the way things are going, we can only expect good things to come in the near future.
Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies are revolutionising the way we think of money. The release of Bitcoin back in 2009 introduced a whole new method of making transactions on the Internet. Prior to that, users were limited to using credit cards or other online services, which only supported traditional fiat currencies, e.g. the US dollar, the Euro, the Great Britain Pound, etc.
Bitcoin changed the way we can store and move money online, by incorporating a system that could potentially do away with fiat currencies permanently, as well as, implementing a slew of privacy and security measures. It created a platform where users did not need to trust a central authority to manage their funds, making it possible to have full control of one’s wealth and keeping that completely private.
The way it did this is by utilising a decentralised online ‘ledger’, also referred to as a blockchain, which stores all transactions ever made on the platform. Users are assigned a Bitcoin wallet, accessible only by the owner using a ‘private key’, which is a long string of letters and numbers. While anyone can look up any wallet on the blockchain, there is no personal information mentioned and therefore, no one can truly know who owns the balance.
The whole system is decentralized since transactions are verified by private individuals, called miners, and anyone can download the blockchain on their computer and start ‘mining’. The software uses high-end encryption to make all transactions permanent, making it practically impossible to commit fraud.
In the last few years, multiple new blockchain projects have emerged, each taking the original idea of Bitcoin and bringing something new to the table. As of the time of this writing, the most popular cryptocurrencies are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin.
What this essentially means for online gambling is that we now have a trustless means of making transaction, enjoying full anonymity, Moreover, cryptocurrency transactions are verified in a manner of minutes, with both deposits and withdrawals being cleared very quickly. Many online casinos have begun accepting deposits in the form of Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin and blockchain technology seems to be the way of the future.
Virtual Reality
Virtual reality has received a fair bit of attention the last two years, with multiple VR devices being released to the general public. Technology has advanced to the point where we can now enjoy a genuinely good virtual reality experience with relative ease.
Granted, this is still brand new tech and its full commercial implementation is still several years in the future, but from what have already seen, we are in for a treat. Currently, VR is mostly limited to very specific video games, which require can only be played on high-end computers, but that is still a good demo for we will be able to enjoy in the future.
With virtual reality the possibilities an endless and gamblers especially will be able to have quite a lot of fun with the technology. Take, for example, live casinos and consider how groundbreaking that genre was for the online gambling industry. Virtual reality gambling will be the next generation of online gambling, allowing players to experience all manner of different games.
Imagine being able to play in the most luxurious and high-end land-based casino establishments in the world, all without the need to leave your home or put on trousers. One moment you could be hitting blackjacks at the MGM Grand in Vegas, while the next you could be playing baccarat at Casino Lisboa in Macau.
Consider also the customised experiences that software providers will be able to develop. With computers, nothing is beyond our reach and that coupled with VR technology will bring us into a new age of online gambling.
Legislation
Online gambling is a heavily regulated industry, with each county having its own take on how the market should progress. As it currently is, these legislations hinder the potential of this great industry. In some jurisdiction, online gambling is banned outright, preventing its population from legally taking part in many activities.
What I would definitely like to see more in the future is countries embracing online gambling rather than fearing it. The United States is an excellent example of an untapped market. Before the Unlawful Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, the US market was thriving and when this piece of legislation was put in power, the market crashed overnight, causing numerous companies to pull out of the US, losing millions in revenue and stock value.
It could be beneficial for everyone if the stigma around online gambling was to disappear. Companies would have the opportunity to operate in many more markets and governments would have a steady flow of taxes. Countries such as Malta and Gibraltar have benefited greatly from having gambling-friendly laws, with online gambling representing a huge part of Gibraltar’s economy.
On the consumer’s end of things, we would get to enjoy a much more diverse and welcoming industry, with many more gambling websites and games being available to the general public. The good news is that many countries have indeed started to take this approach, loosening their laws to accommodate new prospective businesses.
Each these trends has the potential to change the future of gambling for the better and many websites have started adopting them in one form or another. If you are even a little familiar with the things I covered, then you will no doubt understand how important they could be for the industry.
On a closing note, I would like to say that the implementation of these systems will be very exciting and I have no doubts that they will shape the future of online gambling in a way that benefits us, the consumers.