The online casino industry is moving forward at an incredible speed: new ways to play, regulation changes, and technology are affecting how you play (and win) online. Some exciting things are coming up in the New Year, according to industry experts. As the European Gaming Congress (EGC) is set to start on November 8th in Milan, experts share what is about to shake up the industry and what it means for both gaming operators and players all around the world.
Finding a New Audience
Traditionally, online casinos have been directed at male players, perhaps due to the fact that men are more likely to get involved in gambling in general. The industry has been shifting for years, however, and more women than ever are now accessing online casinos through their smartphones or tablets.
This shift hasn’t been properly addressed in the industry – and experts agree this is a mistake. Whether by releasing more games that might appeal to a female audience or changing their marketing strategy to be more friendly to female players, online casinos will have to adapt if they want to survive.
The Growth of Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency has been finding its way into the world of online casinos for a couple of years now, but the growth has been slow. As of today, only a handful of casinos accept crypto as a deposit or withdrawal method, and all of them deal only with Bitcoin.
Now that cryptocurrency is going through a transformation and regulations are underway, we can expect more casinos to accept it in 2020.
Games Will Become More Interactive
While nobody expects online casinos to phase out slots or table games, we should start seeing more games that are arcade-style, as this is what the younger generation demands. This is also how online casinos can attract younger players to join in.
One example of this is virtual and augmented reality casinos (VR), a computer-generated 3D environment in which people would feel like they are in a real land-based casino, walking the hallways and almost touching the slot machines and table games around them.
Experts believe the potential of virtual reality in the gambling industry is huge, and while we will not see the full impact of it by next year, we should start seeing the first steps into VR.
New Gambling Regulations
The main focus of the European Gaming Congress (EGC) this year is to look closely into the new regulations being introduced in both Europe and the U.S. It will also deal with problem gambling and the opening of new markets that had not been previously part of the online gambling world. The Netherlands is a good example, as the country will put in motion new gambling legislation in 2021, opening the market to online gaming for the first time.
The agenda for the EGC also includes a discussion on introducing new lobbying in Europe, operational, regulatory and compliance aspects, and focus on how markets differ in the U.S. vs Europe, and how both markets are learning and adapting as regulations change. Part of those changes have to do with requiring additional licenses from casinos so they comply with specific conditions and terms, but also more U.S. states allowing gambling within their virtual and non-virtual borders.
As new trends are introduced and industry experts become more in tune with what players want, the industry can only grow. The future of online gambling will be more about the full experience of gameplay, rather than just sitting down to spin your favorite games.
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