Recent reports from major market forecasts have predicted the online casino market will grow to $154.81 billion by 2030. Operating with a 12.1% CAGR, this growth represents a significant expansion of an industry that was valued at $61.5 billion in 2021. As the result of continued investment and evolving socio-technological factors, this trend is expected to continue even beyond what forecasts have announced.
The Current Industry Position
As of 2022, online casinos have gone through myriad changes and industry-specific eras to reach their current point. Modern websites are highly technical, relying on a range of features to appeal to new players and keep existing players returning. The best USA online casinos utilize features such as different banking options, security measures, and bonuses as standard. Backed by game providers like NetEnt and Microgaming, the most popular of these titles like Starburst are internationally recognized.
Evolutionary Development
The first forms of online casinos launched in the late 90s, during the dot-com boom. These proto-casinos succeeded in the ease of translation that many casino games had to the limited computers of the time. Slots and card games required very little hardware and software power, and the enjoyment players derided has never depended on appearance, it was merely enhanced by it.
Surviving the dotcom crash and moving into the new millennium, online casinos would continue to expand in scope. With Flash as a basis, they gained increasing variety in their titles, and the arrival of the iPhone in 2007 brought with it the potential for mobile integration. With the eventual decline of Flash, the move to HTML5, and improved platform support, modern online casinos are available from practically anywhere.
Future Possibilities
According to major studies, as highlighted by Business Today, the age of desktop domination in the online casino space is diminishing by the year. This matches developments seen in other forms of entertainment centered on computer space, such as video streaming. Instead, it’s the ubiquity and new standard offered by the mobile UX that’s become a much more common platform for online casino engagement.
As more devices like smart TVs embrace HTML, the list of supported platforms will continue to expand, though mobiles will likely remain the established home. Requiring minimal data and power costs, the ease of mobile use, and the suitability for casino games on smaller screens create a natural combination that players increasingly prefer.
Of the types of betting seen in the online environment, it’s games like slots and table titles that deliver the most involvement. In 2021, casino games made up 35.7% of market revenue, followed by sports betting (27.1%), poker (19.1%), and bingo (9.9%). Though these proportions fluctuate, this tiered hierarchy is well established and is expected to continue.
With online casinos already penetrating far into the developed world, it’s the yet unexplored markets that hold the most potential. Especially key are the growing markets of China, India, and Africa. Together, these areas hold the potential for hundreds of millions of additional players. While there remain questions about licensing, greater involvement is a matter of when not if.
Also worthy of note is the role cryptocurrency holds in the online casino marketplace. Still facing issues with acceptance in many other markets, online casinos have been laying a path for crypto acceptance in currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Though the complexities of online casinos can make them challenging to implement quickly, the now-developed state of the market has created a solid foundation on which to expand. Heading through the 2020s, improved player involvement, better development tools, and a more trusted market all contribute to a strengthening upward trend. While slowing is eventually likely when market saturation is reached, such a point is still far beyond this decade.
