Apart from its stand-alone importance, technology progress over the past decade has led to many transformations in all sectors, including the gambling industry, evolving into technological advancements. In the years to come, these transformations are expected to continue, bringing new features that could transform and redefine the sector.
Here are some of the leading trends that are expected to be seen in both land-based and online gaming and gambling sector in 2020.
Declining Popularity of Land-Based Gambling Services
For a few years now, the retail gambling sector worldwide has been on a decline. Land-based casinos and other gambling operators have slowly but surely become less attractive to gamblers than their online versions and are already facing a rapid decline in popularity.
Some brick-and-mortar casinos concentrated in certain areas such as Las Vegas or Macau are still staying relatively strong, but the truth is that online gambling operators are getting stronger. Their easy accessibility and pretty much unlimited services are getting more attractive to customers from all over the world, who would have otherwise found it hard to make their way down to a land-based casino.
The time that they would have wasted to get in a brick-and-mortar gambling venue is usually precious for the majority of people, so they prefer to access the online version of their favorite casino that can easily be reached through their computers or smartphones. Gamblers also prefer the online and mobile casinos because such gambling options help them save transport and other incidental costs they would have otherwise had to pay for while getting to a land-based operator.
On the other hand, online casinos also have one major advantage – apart from the convenience that their players have there, they offer more privacy. The advancement of technologies helps to make the experience authentic for players, who also have a massive variety of games to choose from, unlike land-based casinos that offer only a limited number of games.
Upgrade in Casinos’ Table Games and Slot Machines
Some casino games, such as poker, or even blackjack, need to be mastered in order for a player to increase their odds of winning. However, not everyone has the necessary skills or knowledge to do that, so people tend to look out for games that they still find challenging but are easier to learn.
This trend is making casino operators try to present new table games to their gambling floors to check which ones are to become popular with their customers. Also, casino customers who prefer certain online and social games, are usually attracted to the same types of games in land-based casinos. This has been exactly why retail casino operators have been trying to bring more interactive gaming systems to their gaming floors.
On the other hand, certain changes have been made to the slot machines, too. Since facing the strong competition of online gambling, brick-and-mortar casino operators have been aimed at attracting younger audiences, so they are expected to continue their efforts to incorporate slot machines with a skill element that is pretty much similar to the ones in video and console games. Casino companies cannot afford to see their customers bored, so they are expected to continue trying to upgrade the slot machines offered at their premises on a global scale.
Consumer Habits Are Changing Along with Technology Advancement
As mentioned above, casino players are getting more and more oriented to using their mobile devices to gamble because they are able to do so wherever they are, wherever they want to. In fact, both mobile and social gaming has had a massive impact on the online gambling industry, as the last few years have seen an increasing number of people who choose to use their phones to gamble.
This, on the other hand, has resulted in an increase in the so-called “free to play” (F2P) types of game products on a global scale. These games do not generate direct profits and are considered more of an entertainment, but operators have the chance to generate revenue in order ways. An increasing number of players tend to pay a small fee to upgrade their favorite game or to pay for certain special features in this game.
The change in consumer habits and players’ willingness to pay a minimal amount so they get special features or game products is also helping the improvement of their gaming experience. Normally, both land-based and online casino operators would do their best in order to take advantage of this in order to attract more F2P players in their regular customer base in the years to come, too.
Smartwatches to Get More Used in Online Gambling
Smartwatches seem to be the new trend when it comes to virtual gambling. The past few years have seen a massive increase in the popularity of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets for gambling, but they would not be the only devices to be used to connect to online casinos.
Lately, smartwatches are considered the devices that are to take over as an even more convenient option for online gambling, as people are nowadays looking for gambling services that are convenient and easy to access regardless of their location. On the other hand, the smartwatch industry is expected to be worth about $33 billion in 2020, and gambling is very likely to be part of this massive trend.
Wearable technology has always been popular and it is expected to remain as such in the years to come. More gaming software developers are now working on games that can be easily integrated on various devices, smartwatches included. The relatively low prices at which smartwatches are sold is only an advantage for many people to choose them as a great everyday option to gamble through.
Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR and VR) Gambling
As CasinoGamesPro has already reported, the links between augmented and virtual reality and gambling deepen. Both have been used for a more immersive casino experience, and the last few years have really seen more virtual reality accessories getting available to the wider public.
This trend in technology development has made the push for VR- and AR-based casino gambling evolve as players have been willing to get easy access to such gambling options directly from the comfort of their homes. Some gambling software producers have already been developing upgrades of their regular online gambling options so that they are easily integrated by companies offering AR and VR hardware.
