The iGaming industry ranks among the world’s most popular pastimes. Millions of people log into their accounts daily and contribute to the community, which has grown consistently over the last two decades.
Understanding iGaming’s Scope
Many participants might not even realize they are a part of this group because iGaming often serves as an umbrella term for many different pastimes, including sports betting, online casinos, card games, and bingo.
If you have ever placed a bet on your hometown team or played bingo while on your commute to work — you are part of the iGaming universe.
There are many reasons why people enter the world of iGaming:
- it is filled with thrilling games and features
- you can bet and play from the comfort of your home
Previously, you would have to book a ticket to Las Vegas or Macao to bet on races or play a poker game. Now, it takes about thirty seconds and an email to register and get started.
Accessibility and Global Reach
Many casinos and sports betting sites make themselves even more accessible by having gambling licenses in countries like Curacao and Malta. That allows them to host sites that can be accessed globally since they are classified as “offshore” licenses.
In tandem with this, most sites have also built out their deposit and withdrawal options — which now allow players to utilize their cryptocurrency accounts and e-wallets in addition to traditional methods like credit and debit cards. The convenience of these games is definitely one of their best-selling points.
However, while the accessibility is great, it is a secondary draw to the iGaming world. This population mainly joins because of the many promised experiences and a range of gameplay.
Customer experience experts understand that one of the best ways to secure continued play is to offer a fun, exciting, and colorful experience.
This strong design is made even more immersive by promotional bonuses on the number of games offered depending on the site — from poker, roulette, and slots to sports betting on hundreds of sports, including football, rugby, basketball, and horse racing.
User Experience (UX) designers also contribute to the building of the sites by investing heavily in the graphics quality and sound design, resulting in a highly realistic casino experience.
Enhanced Gaming Experience
If the graphics, game selection, or ease of access cannot convince you, then maybe some developments in the works will. One of the key trends that has captured the hearts of players is the social element of these games, especially in a post-COVID world.
Since 2020, many people have found creating social bonds increasingly difficult. There are fewer places to meet people and develop friendships. For those who feel isolated, online spaces offer an incredible solution — allowing them to find people with similar interests, join communities, and build their relationships.
The global nature also allows these communities to grow internationally and attract people from every corner of the earth. Many iGaming platforms have been drawn to this trend and contributed with their own twist.
The Social Gaming Revolution
While it depends on the site, you can safely assume that most big hitters will have at least a few of the following: live chat, live streaming, public profiles, leaderboards, and multiplayer options, among many other features.
The sites have also embraced the trend of eSports, which falls under the umbrella of iGaming. These tournaments and events have created an interactive community, celebrities, and millionaires — showing everyone that anyone can achieve their dreams of money, fans, and community.
Regardless of which features are your favorite, companies are embracing technology across the board. One trend that players are increasingly thankful for is the integration of random number generators (RNG) which take some of the concerns out of the playing experience.
For most of the time iGaming has existed, one of the key pieces of feedback was “How do we know the experience is authentic and reliable”. Clients wanted to make sure they were not being cheated by computers and companies that would have invested interest in making games impossible to win.
On the other side, companies wanted to ensure that their programs were not hackable by players, as achieving true randomness in computer calculations was challenging. Computers worked on mathematical calculations — enabling millions of possibilities.
However, if you could run the calculations, you could crack the code and steal from the game.
So, the invention of RNGs, such as the Australian National University Quantum RNG, which arbitrarily assigns colors to particles in a vacuum, has been invaluable to the iGaming world. Essentially, these do a solid job of ensuring that players can relax while playing while also allowing companies to trust that they are not being hacked.
Technological Innovations
For those who like to play on the go, many sites are building out their mobile browser and mobile game options. Mobile games are not a new trend, as games have been available pre-downloaded on your phone or for sale in the app store since the first iPhones and Androids.
However, the growth of games that can be played both on a desktop and on your commute is a development that most players are incredibly happy about, with this flexibility allowing customers to choose how they play, enabling them to deposit and withdraw right on their phone and connect with their friends from anywhere.
Another emerging tech trend is the adoption of AI into the operating systems of these gaming sites which has numerous benefits:
- it enables iGaming platforms to hyper-customize each customer’s experience – from the level of difficulty the player wants to recommendations for other games based on their search history
- it also enables companies to detect patterns in fraud and cheating, which along with the RNGs, means that customers can enjoy the game for what it is and not fear that there are nefarious elements on the leaderboards or that the odds are being manipulated.
Finally, AI allows for quicker and more efficient customer service options. Chatbots have been around for a while, but they used to be increasingly frustrating to use, and often people just ended up web searching for the customer service phone number because they are desperate to talk to “a real person”.
However, with new AI technologies that allow chatbots to be trained in incredible detail and LLMs (large language models) allowing for chatbots to be asked any question — many gambling and casino sites have adopted this to ensure customers are helped immediately and effectively.
A Look into the Future
The future of iGaming is incredibly bright as new developments and updates are being released monthly, optimized to work with the newest and fastest technology. Not to mention emerging tech is being built to take advantage of 5G cellular speeds, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) setups and consoles, and AI build-outs.
This growth also has the added benefit of enabling new industries and communities to join the iGaming umbrella. We are already seeing the rabid success of streamers, influencers, and critics who have come to the industry uniquely but are already making a stamp on it.
This added attention also brings in new customers and regions to the world — benefiting players by allowing them to diversify and grow their communities.
A final note on all of this: be aware of sustainability. iGaming is a key contributor to carbon emissions and mining, along with other climate change worries. AI especially is responsible for massive amounts of energy usage, and while the products are beneficial to humanity, many are asking if the pros outweigh the cons.
Going forward, a “trend” that everyone should adopt is a hyper-awareness of the environment and how their new and fancy software is worth the impact on the planet.
Final Thoughts
The iGaming industry is incredibly exciting. It is constantly evolving and trying to “out-innovate” itself. Some of the most exciting trends include community building, personalized experiences, un-hackable quantum random number generators, bringing AI into platforms, and incorporating new money and payment options.
However, with all of this “newness”, we need to be aware of the environment and the responsible uses of this tech so that we all feel protected at the end of the day.