Despite many different sectors struggling throughout the start of the year as the pandemic saw many have to change the way they operate, online casinos were relatively untouched and many even saw a surge of growth as the lockdown efforts increased the potential audience for those stuck at home looking to find some different form of entertainment – there had been speculation that once things got back to ‘normal’, whilst many players would be retained just as many would start to return to their older habits. But as we head into a potential second wave and further lockdowns, it seems many have continued to find surges of new players as online gambling has quickly become a favourite pastime.
(Image from theguardian.com)
There had been changes that threatened this growth in some regards – early on there were restrictions placed by many countries to curb the growth such as a restriction on deposit limits or even an outright back on online gambling all together, other countries such as the UK saw the increased authority given to initiatives such as Gamstop that aimed to reduce player participation and add further measures such as a ban on credit card deposits for betting, despite these changes however players have been seeking out new services and new operators as this crazy star casino review shows how player habits are changing and new games are rising in popularity throughout these changes.
It is possible that there are more challenges ahead too, Italy is currently in a dispute with Google over the alleged promotion of online gambling sites during the pandemic, Brexit may impact operators in the UK, particularly those registered abroad, and other short term measures placed in other countries have now been extended to potentially become a permanent change – but with accessibility higher than it has ever been before and a focus on expanding outwards to the emerging markets there are plenty of opportunities for online casinos to grow much in the way they have been in recent years and continue to capture a growing portion of the market.
Other changes coming may definitely play in to the operators hands too – a potential second wave of the coronavirus could see future lockdowns put in place and potentially a repeat of earlier in the year where the increasing audience was a huge boon for mobile casino operators, similarly future tech may also push things along as the introduction of 5G that’s just round the corner for many of us could see increasing connectivity and speeds lead to games that have been developed in a different way and provide a different experience for players. Perhaps on its way to becoming the most popular mobile gaming genre, there’s a lot to look forward to for online casinos, and if you’re currently unable to access your favourite site there are many that are appearing to replace them that are safe to access – and with ongoing disputes around the app marketplaces for both Apple and Google it may not be long until we don’t need to rely on sites at all as casinos could be poised for an appearance on the official marketplaces.
