Land-based casinos have long lost the battle with their online counterparts and this trend seems to be irreversible. There is nothing suggesting the fact that players will return to the brick-and-mortar operators while forsaking online casinos. Las Vegas establishments continue to thrive, but that’s mainly because of the related entertainment options in Sin City.
The online casino industry continues to expand every year and the gambling market growth and trends paint a very bright future for the next decade.
Online gambling likely to cross $130 billion by 2028
Modern players enjoy quick gaming sessions and value convenience above everything else. That’s why they were so keen to trade brick-and-mortar casinos for their online counterparts and never looked back since making this transition. Mobile gambling acts as a serious catalyst for growth and a “significant percentage of new players choose to bet on smartphones and tablets” according to this page. This will continue to push the market growth forward in the years to come, as all the projections suggest a steady and sustainable growth.
Recent research suggests that the market will grow by more than 10% in the next five years. If the figures hold and the projections are correct, it will cross the psychological threshold of $130 billion before the end of the decade. A significant percentage of those who play online start with casual games and many even choose to play for free. The freemium model is immensely popular and online casinos made the most of it to build a name for themselves.
The conversion rate from free games to real money entertainment is significant and eventually players make a small deposit. Most of them never increase the stakes, but they still represent a significant number. Before the arrival of powerful smartphones and tablets capable of running the games smoothly, these players had no incentive to gamble online. Easy access to casino gaming platforms is perhaps the most important reason for the accelerated growth.
Social distancing encourages Internet gambling
Las Vegas casinos were hard hit by the pandemic and many will never recover after the crisis is over. On the other hand, online establishments continue to thrive and there is no reason to expect a dramatic change in the years to come. In fact, as the social distancing principles are gaining further traction, they are likely to contribute to the growth of the online casino industry. The spread of COVID19 has a two-pronged effect, on one hand deterring physical contact, on the other giving players a lot of time to kill.
Online gambling allows people to hit two birds with one stone and this is unlikely to change anytime soon. The same account now grants players access to sports betting, casino games and poker rooms among others. All the games can be accessed for free and the same bankroll can be used to make an immediate switch to real money gambling. Knowing all this, even the ambitious projections of $130 billion by the end of the decade seem reasonable and even higher numbers could be hit.