Driving Factors Behind Online Casino Industry Growth
The Swedish online casino industry has seen impressive growth in the last couple of years. On the surface, this can be attributed to the effects of recent travel and business restrictions on Sweden’s brick-and-mortar casinos. But there is more to it than that.
The gambling market, as a whole, is projected to grow by almost $200 billion by 2025. However, what remains to be seen is just how big a slice of the pie the online gambling industry is going to see.
While the current restrictions have led to an increase in the popularity of the online casino industry, several new tech developments are contributing to the increasing rate of adoption of online casinos. Swedish author Dominic Andreasson from svenska casino discusses how the prevalence of mobile gambling, availability of cryptocurrency payments, and new, cutting-edge VR casino software are driving the growth of the online casino industry.
Mobile Gambling
Mobile gambling is nothing new. The online casino phenomenon is almost as old as the internet itself, so it comes as no surprise that mobile gambling apps have been around since the invention of the smartphone.
But, until recently, mobile gambling was seen as a pale substitute to the real deal. More and more gamblers have turned to mobile and online gambling channels due to restrictions on brick-and-mortar establishments.
With a good mobile gambling app, players can enjoy many benefits over physical gambling, such as increased personal safety and financial security, as well as the simple convenience of indulging in a favorite pastime from the comfort of home.
While it’s certain that the current global pandemic won’t last forever, even after we’ve returned to business as usual, it is equally certain that many new mobile and online gamblers will prefer to continue gambling remotely.
Cryptocurrency Payments
Cryptocurrencies are nothing new either, but online casinos are understandably late adopters of this fintech development. In recent years, it has become abundantly clear that cryptocurrency payments offer more security and convenience. This has led to widespread adoption of the payment method in the online casino market, where security and convenience are highly valued.
While this trend has seen only gradual adoption until recently, it’s anticipated that most if not all of the major online casinos will accept and offer cryptocurrency payments by the end of 2021.
Esports Betting
Sports betting has been and always will be a popular Swedish gambling activity. What’s new is the growing popularity of alternative sporting events such as esports, which has led many online casinos to include popular esports in their sports betting mixes.
Physical sports like American football and baseball will likely remain popular with gamblers that prefer them, but esports has opened up an entirely new market. Not everyone enjoys physical sports, so less physically-inclined Swedish gamblers may prefer to bet on their favorite esports teams where they would have otherwise not bet at all.
Virtual Reality
New developments in VR technology are bringing closer the long-sought evolution in gaming. VR headsets have allowed us to enjoy media in ways never before conceived outside the realm of science fiction, and online casinos have been quick to capitalize on this emerging trend.
VR casino software is allowing online casinos to emulate the feeling of the brick-and-mortar casino, catering to gamblers that aren’t satisfied with mobile gambling apps. As VR casino software improves, users can look forward to greater levels of immersion, including real social interactions and complete with emulations of the full range of human emotion.
Takeaways
There’s no way to predict every technology and industry development that will affect the online casino industry, but the factors discussed above, along with big data, have already begun to shape the market and will only continue to do so. Online casinos are finally coming into their own and attracting larger and larger audiences; the phenomenon is here to stay, and new developments will only continue to help it grow.
