Market Data: Online Casino and Mobile Gambling Apps

Market analysts predict desktop, Android and iOS gambling has nowhere to go but straight up.

No one can guarantee the actions of the future, especially where internet-based technologies are concerned. There are no prophets of eCommerce divining the secrets of popular networks to come. But that doesn’t stop so-called experts from peddling their predictions for the iGaming industry.

A week doesn’t go by without one market research firm or another publishing a many-hundreds-page report projecting the future of this multi-billion-dollar industry. They charge companies with a vested interest in the business hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, to access their reports. And those companies, desperate to get a head start on the next big thing, or at least compete in a respectable position in a globally saturated market, are more than willing to pay the price to gain any shred of an advantage.

Such data means nothing to us little guys – we who join the industry’s top online and mobile casinos, depositing money, enjoying the entertainment on offer, and on our best days, requesting a sizable cashout of winnings. We don’t need to read market reports. Why should we care if UK regulators are strengthening their AML policies, or if Live Dragon Tiger is attracting more players in Asia?

True, we don’t need to know those things. But there are some related circumstances that directly effect Canada’s online gamblers, and for that reason, I felt it prudent to share some of the more interesting details in the latest reported finding of Advance Market Analytics, a data research firm serving an array of clients, including Fortune 500 companies.

Predictions for Desktop, Android and iOS Gambling

AMA published a 210 page report in September detailing a comprehensive study of mobile gambling around the globe. Most of those pages detail the past and present performance and market drivers for all types of internet-based gaming – online betting, casino, poker, lottery, and ‘other’. Issues are further segmented by countries and regions, and yet again by primary operators and game developers in the field (888, Ladbrokes, Microgaming, NYX, etc.)

Bypassing the details only marketing and production firms would be interested in, let’s take a look at AMA’s player-centric predictions for the future of iGaming; for starters, which direction the global industry is headed in.

Nowhere to Go but Straight Up

The AMA’s researchers are all in agreement that the iGaming industry has only one direction to travel in, and that’s up. Of all the world’s gaming related markets, internet gambling has long carried the label of fastest growth rate. That hasn’t changed, and isn’t expected to anytime soon.

While land-based casinos continue to look for alternative ways to sustain revenue streams, the digital realm is having no trouble increasing game variety, aesthetics, and market awareness.

As the famous movie quote says, “If you build it, he will come.” Information and communication technologies (ICT) are far from reaching a precipice, and neither are the online and mobile gambling apps that rely so heavily upon them.

Expansion of Live Dealer Games

Throughout the history of the iGaming industry, no game type has attracted quite so much intrigue as live casino games. Employing real dealers and sitting them behind actual tables in a virtual casino studio is the absolute closest thing the virual gambling realm has come to presenting real blackjack, baccarat, roulette and other favorites in the comfort of players’ homes.

According to AMA, technological advancements mean that live dealer offerings are still getting better. Capitalizing on that fact, more live casino operators are establishing new studios, expanding old ones, and coming up with a wider range of table games to offer. Evolution Gaming’s Monopoly Live, Deal or No Deal Live, Lightning Dice and Dream Catcher are all perfect examples of the creativity developers are putting into this fast-growing vertical of iGaming.

Better Laws for a Safer iGaming Experience

Just when you thought legal issues in the United Kingdom meant nothing to us here in Canada, think again. The majority of desktop, Android and iOS gambling operators are licensed in the UK. Odds are, if you gamble online, you’ve already experienced UK-licensed iGaming. Even if you haven’t, chances are the operators you’ve done business with have been influenced by UK online gambling laws in some way.

The Gambling Commission (UKGC) is the world’s foremost authority in iGaming regulation. They uphold the strictest player protections and AML laws, and are quick to investigate and penalize any operator that fails to comply with those laws. In short, the UK sets the bar for all other regulatory bodies – at least, those with any degree of self-respect – to follow.