The online gambling market is projected to expand at a CAGR of 11.7% between 2023 and 2030. Over the last few years, technological advancements have shaped digital casino experiences. Some of the key macro trends include making the experience smoother with better interfaces, improving accessibility with diverse fund transfer mechanisms, and elevating customer experience on the platform through enhanced graphics, sound, and bonus rounds.
With the evolution of technology, deepening internet penetration, and innovative elements to generate excitement among users, the industry will continue to evolve in the years to come. Here are the top 6 trends that big and small players will hop on to capture customer attention in 2024.
1. Adoption of Augmented and Virtual Reality
In the race to offer unparalleled immersive customer experiences, the iGaming industry is experimenting with augmented and virtual reality. In 2024, many big and small players may elevate experiences using advanced AR/VR devices.
Additionally, by extending the concepts of the metaverse, simulated reality technologies can foster engaging experiences, combining the best elements from the live and online gaming domains. For instance, AR can help simulate live dealer experiences, while VR facilitates immersive table games just like physical casinos.
2. Social Gaming
The obvious next step to making augmented experiences more real is to facilitate social gaming. Some online casino websites, such as Plusz.com, McLuck.com, and WinStar, already provide communal experiences to some extent.
The augmentation of casino technology with live leaderboards, chatrooms, and multiplayer options in AR/VR can be a game-changer for the industry. It can open new revenue streams, transforming the solitary experience into a collective one. It can also promote social gifting and forming clubs among players, opening a fresh channel of revenues for online casinos.
3. Changing Regulatory Atmosphere
The online casino industry has been receiving greater attention from global regulators. Jumping through the hoops to get licenses and struggling to maintain compliance will become things of the past. Advanced technology adoption and audits may simplify compliance and improve the reputation of the industry.
Regulations, such as MiCA, are a significant step in regulating cryptocurrencies for many industries, including online gaming. Further, regulating the online casino market can be an attractive opportunity for certain countries to attract revenues and taxes. Liechtenstein, for instance, the La Vegas of the Alps, is fiercely vocal against the casino ban. This is because casinos are a significant source of revenue for the country, which is a tenth in size to that of London. 2024 may witness regulatory reforms worldwide for enabling smoother operations across the casino industry and to protect the interests of players and owners.
4. Payment Mode Diversification
Alternative payment methods, such as PayPal, offer faster and more secure ways of funding gaming accounts. In the rapidly globalising world, enabling cross-border payments can be a gateway to entering new markets and attracting a wider customer base. Increased data protection and speed of modern payment techniques will be further exploited to make digital payments friction-free.
Additionally, cryptocurrencies are making inroads into a plethora of industries. The online casino industry is unlikely to remain behind. Cryptos bring with them the added benefits of greater fund security, anonymity, and lower fees. Modern payment mechanisms have penetrated the industry significantly and cryptocurrencies will become more commonplace in the gaming industry as 2024 progresses.
5. Casinos Becoming Intelligent
The adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning-based analytics is expected to elevate online casino experiences. From identifying marketing opportunities to discovering security threats, AI is set to play a significant role in the iGaming industry. Analytics can help spot market trends, identify worrying customer behaviours to provide timely support, and AI can be used to automate customer interactions. Further, it can help deliver personalised recommendations, an unsaid mandate of the current age of hyper-personalisation.
6. Prioritising Sustainability
Environmental impacts of a business and even individual activities have become key considerations for individual decisions. The environmentally conscious player segments will expect the online casino industry to adopt environmentally friendly practices, such as renewable energy resources, limited carbon emissions and e-waste, switching to cloud technologies, etc. Another expectation could be recognising and rewarding environment-friendly acts of players.
Key Considerations for Online Casinos
Illicit activities in the online casino domain are increasingly earning negative attention, forcing regulatory bodies to take severe actions. Here are some key updates on the regulatory front.
Inappropriate Advertisements
The EU is consistently urging its member nations to pull the plug on gambling advertisements. Despite 400 gambling-related suicides every year, the UK has surfaced as the global hub of online gambling advertisement deregulation. Further, research has found that gambling ads with little or no warning of potential harm to health and wealth across social networks with young users can have worrisome effects. These may exploit adolescents at a vulnerable time in their lives and lure them into gambling without realising the side effects. Time-sensitive gambling offers, perpetuating it as a source of harmless entertainment, often create misconceptions among young adults. The result is increased scrutiny, even bans over advertisements. Italy, for instance, has banned all kinds of promotional activities for online casinos.
Illegal Practices
In December 2023, the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) urged France to regulate its online gambling industry and tighten its grip on unlicensed operators in the region. With illegal gambling bans and anti-money laundering activities being exposed, the EU’s count of blacklisted websites grew to 5,836 in 2023from 1,878 in 2022. Being an expert in identifying and preventing cybercrime, Mediastalker's technology assisted the EEEP in discovering and reporting at least 250 illegal websites. In addition, all legal operators were notified and guided to take adequate measures to prevent money laundering and fight financial crime.
Mediastalker's proprietary anti-piracy technology leverages artificial intelligence to completely transform online gaming ecosystems. With a partnership history with regulators, and industry players across the EU, we help companies protect their portfolios and expand their customer base while remaining compliant. Our plug-and-play tools empower online businesses to assess their networks, third-party plugins, and users to discover vulnerabilities.
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