Online gambling is an industry that is on a trajectory like few other industries. It’s become huge, a billion dollar industry, and is only growing.
Today, it’s worth 265 billion both online and offline, and has always been particularly quick to adopt new technology in order to progress, whether that be bingo sites, casinos and even sports betting.
So, with that in mind, it’s only expected that technology, amongst other things, will continue to advance and change the gambling industry.
But what will be changing the face of gambling over the coming years? We took a look at the latest trends, technology and more to uncover what lies ahead?
The Metaverse
The metaverse is creeping up on us rather loudly and the rebrand of Facebook suggests only further that it’s going to completely revolutionise how we operate online. That will certainly be the case in gambling, which will be among the first to make more concrete steps into it.
Gaming is already proving popular within it, so it’s only a matter of time before the likes of online bingo and casino games hit Web 3.0.
In fact, Decentraland has already welcomed a casino, which raked in over $7.5million in just three months. Major brands will be looking at that and certainly be considering their next steps.
Virtual Reality
We’ve already seen a number of casinos online and even some bingo in the virtual reality realms, but as the technology becomes more mainstream, with cheaper and more accessible headsets hitting the market, virtual casinos, especially, will become even more popular.
It will allow gamers to play as if they’re sat at a table in Las Vegas or Monte Carlo, bingo players will be able to play as if they are in a hall, with virtual paper and dabbers to play along in a much more immersive way than what online bingo offers currently.
It’s a matter of time before this technology really becomes mainstream within online gambling websites, and will certainly change how the more avid gamer plays.
Cryptocurrency
Some gambling websites already offer cryptocurrency as a method of payment but it’s yet to be rolled out among the major brands.
As the metaverse expands though and crypto becomes more mainstream, it will undoubtedly become another way to pay and potentially an even safer way. Security is such a big part of how online casino sites operate, so if crypto can increase that, then it will certainly be adopted widely.
However, at present there is still uncertainty around the safety of cryptocurrency, so it could be a while until we see this cross fully into all online gambling sites.
Legalisation Rollout
Outside of technology, the legalisation in some states of the USA of online gambling has been hugely valuable to the industry, welcoming more players and untapped revenue streams.
More and more states are now beginning to legalise online gambling, and there are questions being asked as to whether it’s going to land in the UAE, with Wynn Resorts having struck a deal to build a hotel resort, complete with “gaming area” in the country. While this is no guarantee it’ll be gambling as such, if it is it could be a huge move for the industry as a whole, boosting revenue that can then be used to fund further advancements.
Elsewhere, legalisation in Brazil is a possibility, with many experts believing it will increase tourism and create hundreds of jobs in its contribution to the economy.
