As we all know, Covid-19 has had a huge impact on our daily lives. From having to go through harsh lockdowns to even our loved ones or ourselves falling sick. On top of that according to the World Bank, the effect of Covid-19 on the economy has been pretty bad.
There has been a historic contraction of per capita income, and not only that but many industries have been hit hard. This isn’t surprising considering that any place where lots of people can congregate are now considered public health hazards. That means that hotels, restaurants, venues, and even stadiums have had to close down as we try and adjust to the new reality we’re living in.
Of course, not all industries have been affected equally, and actually, some industries are doing pretty well. For example, the tech world is doing really excellent now, especially as we move our lives into the digital realm. Besides that though, according to a recent study, online gambling has been doing really well.
Much More Gambling All-Around
In fact, online casinos have nearly doubled in numbers and revenue. This is especially the case since online gambling not only has new customers due to the pandemic but also has all the customers from physical gambling that can no longer go to the physical locations.
As such, online gambling has had a massive growth spurt, and there are five main reasons why that’s the case.
Convenience
Obviously, the first and most obvious thing is convenience. Since people don’t have to go down or travel for a long period of time, there’s a much lower barrier to entry. In fact, with online payments and digital currencies, it’s even easier than ever to basically just go online and find an online casino to play at.
Not only that but in certain places, you can exchange winnings for not just currency, but also credit for shops and grocery stores. This just makes online gambling all the more appealing, since the rewards can be so varied. More importantly, it’s instantaneous and you usually don’t have to wait for several-day long transfers, especially with digital or cryptocurrencies.
Better Gaming Experience
Another big positive of online gambling compared to physical gambling is that there is just generally more of it to choose from.
Traditionally, in a physical venue, you’ll only find specific types of gambling. For example, if you want to gamble on horse or car races, you’ll have to go to a betting parlor or a race track. If you want roulette, blackjack, and poker, then you’d need to go to a casino. Then there’s Pachinko, which itself generally also tends to be in specific places.
As such, having a sort of one-stop-shop for all types of gambling and sports betting provides an overall better experience. Not only that, but you can find things to bet on that wouldn’t otherwise be available, like esports. Considering that things like Dota 2 can have million-dollar tournaments, esports is no longer the small industry they used to be 10 years ago.
Then you add in all the special effects, UI and user experience, gamifying the gambling process and just overall more personalized-feeling fanfare, and it’s not a surprise that people enjoy online casinos more.
Mobile Phones
Mobile phone ownership has grown exponentially over the last few years, especially as they’ve become cheaper and easier to get a hold of. In fact, most people will own a mobile phone and not own a laptop or PC.
As such, mobile phone gaming and general use have contributed quite significantly to the world of online casinos. Since it provides easier access where that access might not have been there before, it lowers the barrier of entry.
Similarly, since players can just take their phones wherever they go, they can pretty much gamble online anywhere they like, rather than being tied down to a PC or a laptop. This is just going to increase as internet service becomes more readily available.
Security & Privacy
In the early days of internet gambling, online casinos tended to have a very spotty record when it came to security & privacy. Oftentimes, people would complain that their credit card or personal information was stolen or used without their authorization.
Thankfully, in the past decade or so, online casinos have spent a lot of time and effort in beefing up their security protocols. This, in turn, has led to more general trust in giving credit card or personal information.
On top of that, cryptocurrencies have added another layer of not only security but also f anonymity. As such, players can gamble online without having to worry about their identity being found out, or their credit card linked to the online casino platform.
Better Marketing
Finally, one of the biggest things that have helped the online casino industry, is overall better marketing and PR.
For example, a lot of big online casinos mega888 now do awareness campaigns about responsible gambling, which has led to a lot of goodwill for players. This also offers a little bit of ease of mind that if a player starts gambling irresponsibly, there are going to be some form of a warning from the casinos themselves.
Combine that with their marketing making the case for all the points listed above, and it’s a pretty easy buy-in for most people.
Conclusion
As we all have to adapt to our new future with covid-19, it seems like the online casino industry growth is going to continue. With predictions for the end of the pandemic by 2022 or even 2023, we’ll likely see these numbers rise until they plateau at around 2024 or so, and by that time, online casinos will be the dominant form of gambling in the industry.