The Future of Sports Betting and Online Casinos — What to Expect?
The previous decade was marked by incredible technological innovations that helped increase the popularity of online gambling. Looking at Online Casinos Net things like mobile betting, live dealer tables, and VR slot machines are just some of the new ways of gambling at online casinos, and that appeared in the last several years.
Undoubtedly, this industry can not continue to improve without technology, which begs the question of what we can expect in the near future when it comes to online gambling. In this article, we will try to make some predictions about the online gambling industry based on the direction it is taking.
Bigger Engagement with VR
Although many saw virtual reality as an experiment that’s bound to fail, the trends in both gaming and gambling industries tell us otherwise. VR is here to stay, as the VR headsets and devices are becoming readily available to everybody. The iGaming developers are continuously making VR games, predominantly video slots.
Players these days are interested not only in the content but also in the aesthetics of the games they play. More money is being invested in graphics and making the gambling experience feel as realistic as possible.
There are already some online casinos that put you in a virtual environment and allow you to interact with the games’ features using your hands and movement. This technology is still in its beginning phase and, as it improves, we can expect more VR casinos to start popping up.
Augmented Reality
Augmented reality is still rare in online casinos and has certain barriers, but it’s definitely something that we will see more of in the future, not just in gambling, but in other things where it can be implemented as well. AR is even better than VR, as it uses a real casino environment instead of the virtual one. Players will be able to turn 360 degrees and interact with different elements of games, just like they would in any land-based casino.
AR is the final step towards realism in gambling games. You will be able to feel like playing in an actual casino while, at the same time, enjoying the comfort of your own home.
Blockchain Technology
One of the most important features of any online casino or sportsbook are fast and secure payment systems. Players want to deposit and withdraw as quickly as possible, with high limits and minimum fees associated with the transactions. In this regard, cryptocurrency payments are the best, not just for gambling, but for everyday use as well.
Blockchain technology allows for the safest possible transactions, and since there is no third-party involved, this payment method is beneficial to both gambling operators and players.
There are already plenty of online casinos and sportsbooks that allow the use of cryptocurrency on their websites, but this technology hasn’t caught on quite yet. Many people still don’t grasp how blockchain works and are a little skeptical about the whole thing. However, as more players get introduced to cryptocurrency and its efficiency, there’s no doubt that almost every online gambling operator will have Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as one of their available payment methods.
Relaxed Gambling Regulations
Technology is not the only way in which online gambling can improve. If the gambling laws in your country are strict, you would be able to bet online anyway, which represents a huge barrier for the whole industry.
Luckily, the gambling regulations all over the world are starting to be more relaxed in the recent period, and this trend is looking to continue in the near future. Several states in the US allowed online sports betting in the last couple of years, and several more are expected to follow.
For many countries, online gambling is still somewhat a grey area. Since this activity is still relatively new, the laws in many regions of the world are outdated and don’t clearly state whether online gambling is legal or not. This puts a lot of fear in players who are not sure if they’re breaking the law by gambling on the web.
However, most countries are expected to update and loosen their online gambling laws in the future, which will, in turn, have a lot of positive effects on the industry.
The Future Is Mobile
Although the concept of mobile gambling isn’t quite new, it is only expected to grow in the future. Mobile bets today account for around 50% of all bets placed online, which is a significant increase compared to some of the previous years.
Although mobile phones have limitations (mobile apps only work on specific devices, the screen is smaller, and so on), more and more people are drawn to the convenience of gambling on the move. The development of mobile apps will continue to grow, and mobile gambling will soon be the primary form of betting and casino gaming.
- Payton O'Brien, Gambling911.com Senior Editor
