An industry with a global footprint and an annual turnover soon to exceed US$50 billion per year is one well worth looking into. Such is the nature of the online gaming industry. And since more players than ever before are taking to online gaming as an equally valued alternative to land-based casinos, a bright and promising future beckons.
Technology is an ever-evolving thing, and right along with it, online gaming and entertainment. Not to mention online gaming being a sector dead-center in a race for the discovery of “the next big thing”. iGaming operators (not to mention software developers) are constantly competing with one another as they rush toward industry-shaping greatness. This drive to discover and innovate is in many ways the very fibre that holds the industry together. Passion for innovation in content development is essentially a strong and significant building block in the greater scheme of online commerce.
As for what to expect of iGaming when looking ahead to the next two or so years, the industry certainly seems to be getting ready for quite a few shake-ups. The following are just some of what we can expect to see in the near as well as distant future.
A Mobile Gambling Explosion
The rise of mobile technology has sparked a surge in mobile gaming. Devices like smart phones and tablets are becoming increasingly more affordable. And since the average smart phone owner can now do just about anything the typical computer user can, people are starting to embrace mobile technology for many more uses than just voice and text comms.
Another significant contributing factor has been that of the rise of a tech-savvy generation. The world is now officially home to adults who grew up with mobile technology. The result is that of a society 100% mobile-confident and more than capable of putting the technological resources at its disposal to a variety of uses.
Affordable VR & AR
The rise in live casino gaming popularity can be directly tied to the pace at which VR and AR technology have progressed toward a position of better affordability. A variety of VR-enabled online casino games are readily available as it is, and AR technology is being deployed at a constantly-increasing rate too. Live casino games rely heavily on multiple aspects of augmented reality technology.
Advanced Payment Systems
Whatever anyone’s feelings regarding a completely cashless society, the benefits of such a system are becoming more and more apparent. And if any single industry should be credited for at the very least the pace at which digital payment technology has evolved, then the online gaming industry would have to be it.
Included in this category are a variety of up and coming cryptocurrencies. Blockchain-based online transactions have grown in popularity to the extent that there now exist online casinos catering exclusively for crypto users only. We can expect to see a lot more of this in future – referring not specifically to crypto-only online casinos, but to online casinos in general becoming more likely to offer cryptocurrency-based payment options.