How Online Gambling Has Evolved Over Recent Years
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The internet has had a transformative effect on a lot of businesses, and gambling is no different. The internet opened up new realms of possibility for the industry, and it was quickly embraced by businesses and customers alike. In the last thirty years or so, technology has allowed a number of advancements to be made, which has further bolstered its popularity, so let's explore.
Mobile Gambling
Traditionally, when online gambling first emerged onto the scene, it could only be done via a desktop because the sites themselves were not mobile optimised. This was very limiting both for the businesses and the players. Eventually, the sites were tinkered with to become mobile optimised. You can find a list of UK sites that are mobile-friendly on OnlineBingo.co.uk. Mobile optimisation soon wasn't enough. To simplify the process further for players, many brands decided to develop and release apps to make it even more convenient for players.
Game Innovations
There are brand new games being released almost constantly. There are a lot of new iterations of classic games, but they aren't necessarily innovative. However, there have also been innovations made in recent years like 3D games, live dealers, in-play betting and live betting. There are also new pieces of technology that can transform the gaming experience like virtual or augmented reality. They can make it seem as though you are at a traditional casino without ever having to leave your house.
Payment Options
As technology has progressed, there have also been a number of advancements made on the financial side of online gambling. Originally, payment processing could be tricky, but the options for transferring your funds weren't always straightforward. As the demand increased for Ecommerce options, the technology had to advance in order to keep up. Today it is pretty simple; you can upload and withdraw your funds with relative ease.
In addition to using your credit and debit cards to upload funds onto your online gambling account, you can also use an E-wallet. Although PayPal was the first E-wallet service founded originally in 1998, there are a lot of other options today. You can even look into prepayment solutions too. Prepayment options are a favourite of online gamblers because they only have to transfer funds once a month, and this is what they use to gamble. In addition, it helps to safeguard the rest of their earnings to ensure that they don't end up gambling more than they can afford to.
One of the newest innovations in terms of payment options for online gamblers is cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency is still a fairly new concept in itself. The funds are mined from sets of data, or they can be purchased. They exist entirely in the digital space but can be sold or traded. Your cryptocurrencies are now compatible with a lot of online gambling sites. This means that you can upload them and turn them into your betting wagers. You can also withdraw the funds as cryptocurrency, which helps to eliminate processing times.
Online Gambling Licencing
Traditional casinos, bookmakers and betting shops have been subject to regulations and licencing for decades. However, online gambling was a bit of an unknown entity to begin with, and as such, it lacked the same scrutiny, which meant that there wasn't as much legislation in place to protect the consumers. as the industry took off, it became more and more important to protect the interest of the users.
It was only in 2007 that the UK Gambling Commission began to cover online betting and offer licences both to homegrown and offshore gambling providers. Today, the UK does have strict regulations in place. In fact, they are often more stringent than a lot of other jurisdictions, which should fill players with confidence.
Bonuses & Incentives
There are a lot of online gambling sites to choose from nowadays. In the beginning, there weren't as many, which meant businesses did not have to compete as much for their market share. However, today, competition is fierce, which means businesses have to find ways to entice customers and draw them away from competitors.
This led to the invention of bonus schemes and incentive programmes. Welcome bonuses for new players are pretty much standard for all online casinos; however, there are a lot of other creative enticement offers too. Some online casinos offer things like free tournaments, VIP schemes, giveaways, and a number of other bonuses too. The fact of the matter is this is a great time to be a player with all of the freebies and incentives to choose from.
The Figures
As a relatively new industry back in 2005, online gambling already boasted a 12 million global revenue, and this number had more than doubled in the next five years. Today the increase continues to snowball and produce more and more profits. Last year, online gambling in the UK made over two billion pounds. Online betting led the way, followed by casino games and online bingo. Although it is a huge business, and these profits are the driving force behind innovation, in order to increase its profits, the industry needs to find new and exciting ways to keep its consumer's interest.
Where is it Headed Next?
Online gambling has indeed come a long way, and you would be forgiven for wondering where it could possibly go next. Online casinos and bookmakers will continue to get creative and find ways to harness each new emerging technology to give their players the best possible experience. As mentioned above, one of the newest innovations to be driven by technology is VR. Live dealer games are already pretty popular because they provide players with a more authentic experience. It feels more personable than some of the other online gambling forms, which to some people can feel a little cold and impersonal sometimes.
Live dealers will get more popular. As it stands, the dealers have limited options when it comes to interacting with the players; the video feed doesn't always allow for them to respond in real-time. In the future, the communication options could increase and improve to provide more opportunities for players and dealers to connect. The same can be said for interaction between players.
Finally, online gambling could become more heavily influenced by video game culture. Video games are one of the largest subsets of the online gaming industry, and they have successfully managed to enter the zeitgeist and influence a lot of other forms of media and content. It stands to reason then that video games could also influence online gambling. The games themselves might be more obviously based on popular video games. As video game tournaments become more popular, Esports betting will also become more common and provide an opportunity for fans to merge their interests.
In Summary
In the grand scheme of things, online gambling hasn't really been around for that long, but it has managed to expand and grow exponentially. As mentioned above, it is a huge business, and it only seems to get bigger. The fact that competition is fierce only aids in the player's experience as they get to take advantage of offers and opportunities used by providers to bag players and entice them away from competitors. The advancements and gameplay are all also designed to improve user experience and make it more authentic.
