Future Trends of the iGaming Industry

Gaming on the internet – or ‘iGaming’ for short – has grown in popularity to a tremendous extent over the past few years. A lot of that growth has been driven by the increasing demand for online games that involve gambling.

There is now a global consumer base for the games that are offered at Casino 777 and similar sites. Furthermore, being online means that they are able to accommodate customers from every part of the world.

All of this has contributed to iGaming becoming established as one of the main pastimes for people in 2022. It is a sector that is evolving constantly though, due to being tech driven, so the iGaming of five years from now may look very different.

These are some of the trends that are likely to determine its future.

1) Virtual and Augmented Reality Games Hit the Mainstream

Both virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) tech have been around for quite a while now and the big gaming breakthrough has long been predicted without quite happening. There is reason to think that such a moment is just a matter of time though.

To clarify the differences: virtual reality tech creates an entirely fake but fully immersive world, whereas augmented reality adds virtual elements to the real world. VR is around 75% virtual and needs the use of headsets, while AR is roughly 25% virtual and does not.

The online casino industry is known to be exploring how both of them could be used to enhance the gambling experience. Live casino has created the ability to play against other players and with real dealers and croupiers via a video stream, but either VR or AR could take that further.

They could potentially create the totally convincing illusion that players are in a glamorous location like Monte Carlo, complete with beautiful views of the ocean and landscape visible from windows. That ability to make people feel like they are gambling in elite locales would make online casino even more attractive to customers and more lucrative for casino companies.

2) Acceptance of Cryptocurrencies Will Become Widespread

This has already started to filter through to the iGaming industry. Trends point towards the sector being the one to take crypto mainstream.

The biggest reason to believe that is that it just makes sense for all parties. The nature of cryptocurrencies means that they can provide a more secure form of sending and receiving payments over the internet than traditional currencies.

Customers do not have to provide bank details or other risky data and iGaming sites are freed from the burden of protecting such data. That makes the acceptance of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin a win-win scenario for iGamers and the sites that they use.

3) The Internet of Things

The Internet of Things or (IoT) means the embedding of software, processing functions, sensors and other tech features into physical objects. These are then able to interconnect with tech devices like tablets, mobiles and computers.

This is also often referred to as smart technology and it is already something that is moving into the mainstream, through things like smart electric meters that can be topped up using mobile phones. There is a strong likelihood that it will form part of the future of iGaming too.

Many online gambling sites have already begun to adopt IoT innovations to collate customer data and use it to provide them with gaming experiences that are more closely tailored to their preferences. It is also being deployed to allow individual servers used by iGamers to connect to slots games.

The IoT is one of the biggest internet innovations right now and cannot be ignored by the iGaming sector.

4) AI Will Become More Prevalent

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is another technological development that is impacting iGaming now. It is being used in the day-to-day running of casino sites, with some customer communications now being with AI rather than actual human beings.

AI can also be a way for these sites to track the preferences of customers, improving their experiences at the sites and making for more effective, targeted promotions. AI facial recognition technology and other software is being used to enhance security on iGaming websites too, helping to reduce the risk of data breaches or fraud.

This will obviously be beneficial to the customers as well as the owners of these sites.

5) Ever-greater Focus on Security

Data security has always been a key issue for people who play games online – especially gambling ones where financial transactions are involved. Therefore it has to trend towards being a priority for iGaming providers too.

That means offering people a greater choice of how they make and receive payments to and from the sites. It also means casinos and other iGaming companies adopting everything from AI to cutting edge SSL-encryption tech to make sure that they can provide a safe and secure experience for their customers.

The development of more security technology that is targeted at iGaming providers seems sure to be something that we will see over the coming months and years.

These are five of the developments that are most likely to impact on the iGaming industry in the future. All of them have the potential to benefit the providers of online gaming while also enhancing the experience of their customers and that makes a pretty compelling case for their adoption.