In recent years, the online casino industry has definitely taken off. A pandemic and technological developments on the front line seems to have been a, if somewhat unfortunate, recipe for success. And the industry is and always has been dependent on digital innovation, otherwise it would have stood still and been replaced by something else. So to what digital advancements does the industry owe its success? And what does the future hold for the industry?
Different Countries, Different Progressions
Before we begin, it is important to stress that the casino industry differs from country to country, although there are many common elements in developed countries. However, some technological developments may come later in one country than in another, just as regulations in different countries can hold back some innovations. In this article, our focus is mainly on the iGaming industry in the Western world, from American to New Zealand casinos.
The Introduction of Mobile Gambling
The technological development that has probably had the greatest impact on the industry, and perhaps the world at large, is the introduction of smartphones. It was not until sometime in 2007-2008 that mobile casinos really took off with the launch of Android and iOS. This is simply because after the entry of Apple and Android into the gaming industry, developers and online casinos began to realize what a lucrative market mobile casinos could become.
It started with the release of a few one-off casino games, but eventually established casinos started to develop mobile-friendly platforms for their websites and some even released designated apps. Today, players have a huge range of options to choose from that are available at the touch of a few buttons on their smartphones.
The interest for mobile gambling has hardly waned in recent years. More and more people are advocating mobile access because then they do not have to be tied to a specific location. In addition, a large number of people have unlimited mobile data, which means that they are not restricted to a location where Wi-Fi is available.
Live Dealer Games Enters to Make the Gambling Experience More Immersive
Around the same time as mobile gaming started to take off, developers realized that the online casino industry still lacked the immersive experience that is otherwise available when players visit brick-and-mortar casinos.
It was at this time that some game providers began to develop the phenomenon of live dealer games, paving the way for a whole new interactive and atmospheric online gambling experience. It was only a few years later that it began to take off in earnest, and today live dealer games are one of the most highly regarded additions to the industry.
Live dealer games take place in a studio that is streamed using multiple cameras that capture different angles of the room. Every action the dealer takes is converted into data by a software called Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and at each table there is a so-called Game Control Unit (GCU) which is used to assist the dealer while the game is in progress, as it encodes the video being broadcasted.
Augmented Reality (AR) May Become the Norm in the Future
Looking back, the sector has come a long way in the last ten years, and more is expected to come. One technology that has been talked about a lot lately is Augmented Reality (AR), which is entering more and more areas of our daily lives.
The gaming industry has embraced AR already, as it gives players an incredibly interactive and immersive experience that was previously impossible for developers to achieve. So it is no wonder that the phenomenon is also starting to be discussed in the online casino industry.
So far, AR is not widespread, but we expect it to become increasingly common in the coming years. The question then is whether live dealer games will be replaced, or whether AR will just be a complement. Either way, we are convinced that the technology is here to stay and that it will be important for the future of the industry.
Can the Industry Really Get Any Bigger?
To answer the question briefly: yes. The gambling industry is huge, but it is also expected to grow even more in the coming years. Unlike their brick-and-mortar counterparts, online casinos are able to constantly expand and offer more and better games, while implementing several groundbreaking technologies all the time.
There is also a matter of convenience that is important to highlight when talking about the industry’s growth. People today are constantly trying to improve their way of life in one way or another, whether it is their health, travel habits or way of gambling.
As online games are more suited to such lifestyles than their land-based counterparts, all the evidence suggests that demand is growing and supply is increasing, which gives us an ever-expanding industry.
