Technology is responsible for allowing people to be more productive even when they’re mobile. Smartphones and tablets have made it easier than ever for the average consumer to answer emails, participate in video conferences, create presentations while they’re on the go. However, more than just the productivity benefits of mobile technology, there are also huge developments that are being made when it comes to entertainment and leisure as well. In particular, the online gambling market has experienced a huge surge towards the trend of mobile gaming. Even though the very idea of online gambling only started back in the 90s, it has grown to become one of the most lucrative industries in the world. And a lot of that has to do with the rising popularity of mobile devices for gaming.
The Pandemic
At the turn of 2020, people were driven into their homes as a response to the global pandemic. Naturally, many industries suffered as the result of losing foot traffic from actual consumers. However, there is another side of the economic coin that started to reveal itself during this year. The online space experienced a significant uptick of users. During a time wherein physical spaces were deemed virtually inaccessible to the mass public, people started flocking to digital spaces as an alternative. As a result, more and more e-commerce transactions took place within that span. Specifically speaking, many people engaged in online gaming as a new form of entertainment and leisure activity.
It was estimated that around 79.5 billion US dollars made up the entire global mobile gambling market in 2020. This is a significant number because the entire gambling industry as a whole was estimated to be worth around 165 billion USD. This means the mobile gambling market accounted for more than half of the entire global gambling industry. Again, this was to be expected considering that it was a pandemic year. However, this is an important statistic to note when it comes to the future of the gambling industry as a whole.
Why More People are Going Online
Many industry experts believe that a combination of various factors have contributed to the surging popularity of mobile casinos. For one, the sheer convenience of gambling on the go has proven to be quite a big draw for many users. In the past, people would only be able to engage in gambling activities if they had access to traditional land-based casinos. However, as technology evolved, people now had better access to online gambling services through websites that were available on desktop platforms. Then, the next evolution took place with the mobile revolution. Nowadays, mobile versions of these online platforms were made available to users and it made online gambling more accessible and convenient to a larger market.
Another factor that contributed to the rise of online gambling was privacy. There’s still this stigma that’s attached to gambling that many people typically like to avoid. However, this kind of anonymity is not possible at a traditional casino. This is why online gambling appeals to so many gamblers in the world who want to keep a low profile. These are the kinds of people who merely look to try gambling out without having that stigma attached to it. The privacy of being able to gamble while within the sanctity of one’s home is a big draw for so many gamers worldwide.
Another layer of convenience that online gambling provides is payment. For traditional casinos, players would either need to bring cash on hand or have access to cash dispensaries in order to play. This is not necessarily the case with online casinos. Most online casinos these days offer integration with third-party payment platforms that make immediate cash as accessible as possible. Aside from that, the safety and security protocols of modern casinos make online gambling a lot easier to stomach. There’s an added peace of mind for people who may have once been afraid to engage in such transactions online in the past.
Moving Forward
The shift towards mobile usage is not a trend that is exclusive to just the gambling industry. This is something that is consistent in so many different markets and industries all over the world. Slowly, people are growing to become more receptive to technology. This is why so many companies worldwide are looking to pivot themselves to integrate mobile technology into their products and services.
