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What to expect from the casino market in summer 2021

Over the past year, the way the world does business has evolved in an incredibly short space of time. While many industries have been hard hit by a lack of visitors to physical stores, the online casino sector has continued to flourish.

According to the European Gaming and Betting Association, the EU makes up around 50% of the global online betting market and from this, the European market is growing at an incredible rate of 10% per year. Part of this rise can be attributed to a declining number of brick and mortar venues, but more so by the rapid rate at which technology is developing.

Below, we’ll take a look at some of the most popular rising trends for online casinos this summer.

Cryptocurrencies

Online casinos continue to offer a number of flexible ways to pay, from internationally accepted credit and debit cards to online wallets like PayPal and Monzo. However, during the early months of this year, there has been a particular rise in the growth of blockchain technology within the online casino industry.

Blockchain technology is essentially the building blocks for cryptocurrencies, offering a way to pay that is decentralised from any bank. As such, there is a degree of anonymity that many online casino players prefer as it protects their identity in an enhanced way.

While the rules on online iGaming with international providers in places like the US and Canada are often murky and confusing, blockchain technology enables players from these countries to utilise offshore providers, without any fear of being penalised by their local bank.

What’s more, as cybercrimes are on the rise, using a cryptocurrency eliminates the need for players to input their bank details into an online casino provider system. This means that if the online provider fell victim to a cyber attack or a data breach, the customers financial details and personal identity would not be at risk.

A significant decline in land based casinos

While land based casinos used to be an incredibly popular source of entertainment, their popularity is now rapidly in decline. Back in the late 20th century, certain international regulations meant that offshore providers began to benefit from providing international online casino services to a worldwide audience. At the same time, the internet began to develop and become more widely available in the average household.

This turned out to be a gold mine for the online gaming industry, and since then, land based casinos have suffered as a direct result.

With fewer people now visiting land based venues and instead opting for the wider variety and convenience of online play, the main source of income for land based casinos has dwindled. As a result, many global organisations with large casino chains have had to rethink their strategy and begin to incorporate the latest technologies into their offerings in order to keep up or lose out.

The rise of VR technology

While online casinos seem to have become the game play of choice in recent years, theres still nothing quite like the experience of visiting a land based casino. From the glitz and glamour of Southern Europe and Vegas casinos, to conglomerate bingo halls and lavish casino bars, players who visit the brick and mortar venue get more than just a game, they get a whole experience.

Yet, VR technology is now helping to bridge this gap by combining both physical and digital worlds in an attempt to improve the online casino experience. In recent years, headsets like the Oculus Rift were either too expensive for the average gamer to afford, or not yet advanced enough or compatible with their games or online casino platforms.

However, this technology continues to develop and as the technology becomes more widely available and affordable, there’s no telling what surprises gaming developers have up their sleeves.

Mobile iGaming

We continue to see developments in mobile iGaming as more and more online casino providers begin to offer better performing sites and enhanced user experiences for smaller screens and portable devices.

What’s more, many online casino providers are now also offering integrated and seamless app interfaces which offer an even better user experience when playing online casino games on the go. Players can easily access information on the latest leaderboards, utilise social features like player chat rooms, and more easily navigate to their favourite casino games.

Enhanced Slot machines

When we talk about slot machines, many players imagine and big, bulky and heavy machine in a pub or a casino, where you pull down a lever and a range of fruit symbols are scrambled across the screen.

Yet, today’s experience couldn’t be further from this reality, in which slot machines have become a lot more enhanced, entertaining and intuitive. So much so that it is thought that there can now even be an element of strategy to slot games.

New slot software on online casino sites also operates by a fairer and more consistent system, meaning players are less likely to be able to cheat the system, or be cheated by the system themselves.

Overall, there have been a significant number of developments over the past year in the online casino sector. While some technologies like VR and cryptocurrencies are still in the early phases of being accepted by mainstream casino playing society, the path that the industry is on shows nothing but promise and exciting developments.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or the management of EconoTimes









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