The iGaming industry has had a sharp growth over the recent years and is only set to get bigger. It’s estimated that by 2026, the industry will be worth a whopping $160bn. It’s no surprise that many iGaming companies have been thriving and this can be attributed to increasing popularity in the games, ease of access and advances in technology.
As a fast-paced, evolving industry that puts a heavy focus on player experience, what new technological advances can we expect to see in the future? And how will these benefit future players?
Top 3 Trends
Virtual Reality
Online casinos have evolved to give players a more personal and unique experience. This has been done particularly well through live casinos, with the demand showing a need for a tailored experience from the comfort of your home.
The iGaming industry has now gone a step further by introducing the possibility of virtual reality. Whilst it may sound far-fetched, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) already exist in casino rooms, allowing businesses to save the space that would have been occupied by machines instead. With this technology, players can use virtual machines and can even see avatars of other players in the room.
Although promising, there are some constraints such as bringing this experience online as not all players will have the disposable income for a VR headset.
Machine Learning
Data has now become an asset that some may deem even more valuable than gold. Obtaining data, whether through customer acquisition or purchasing, gives companies a competitive edge when advertising. Within the iGaming industry, more companies are increasingly using machine learning in order to identify specific user patterns and introduce new gaming opportunities to individual players.
As well as using machine learning to improve the user’s gaming experience, this technology can analyze betting data and potentially look for patterns of compulsive gambling. A benefit to this is companies using this data to implement new measures to help with possible signs of gambling addiction. This can definitely work to their favour in jurisdictions where gaming laws are strict.
Cryptocurrency
iGaming companies have usually accepted traditional payment methods when users want to make a deposit, such as Visa or Mastercard. More recently there has been an increase in alternative methods like Skrill or PayPal which can serve as a means to protect the user’s bank details.
Cryptocurrency is slowly making its way through with some companies already adopting it as the main payment method. A major benefit is that players can enjoy the security and anonymity of being able to use Bitcoin or any other digital currency. In addition, there’s an added layer of safety when using cryptocurrency because the risk of identity theft and hacking remain minimal.
One disadvantage of using cryptocurrency is that it can be extremely volatile due to its increasing demand, so whilst the price may settle, iGaming companies may find that its users deposit lower amounts.
