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Online casino, and especially online poker, has been one of the fastest-growing industries in recent years, providing audiences with new experiences and staying at the forefront of technology.
Source: Pixabay
2019 was a bumper year for the sector, and the additions and developments look to continue into 2020 and beyond. This extends well beyond the jumps forward we have seen with poker and throughout the industry as a whole. So, what have we seen in 2019, and what can we expect to see going forward?
Mobile Poker Playing
The changing ways we are engaging with poker sites – and other online casino offerings – means that developers and operators need to rethink how they view gamers. The growth in mobile gaming and the need to ensure sites work well enough on mobiles [3], often even having an app, means that games run differently to the desktop-based setup.
Therefore, one critical step in the online poker world in 2019 was the need to ensure that games had been properly optimized to give players the same experience they'd expect on their desktop. Most sites have adhered to what the audience wants and have ensured that their offerings are suitable for a mobile market. The next step for many sites will be to create mobile-specific offerings that harness some of the benefits of using mobile as opposed to sitting at a desktop.
Land-Based Casinos
The online casino sector is even influencing traditional land-based casinos. The advent of online meant that most physical businesses have had to adapt. Some casinos have furthered their appeal, offering Vegas-style musical residencies and live experiences, while others have worked in tandem with what online casino can do for poker players. As Sky City Online Casino shows [4], the bricks-and-mortar based establishment has branched out into an online version, which will operate simultaneously to their land-based offering to create a holistic approach to casino gaming. Many other land-based casinos will consider this as an option, especially when it comes to the growth of iGaming.
Source: Pixabay
Tech Innovations
The online casino industry is in a prime position to benefit from being at the forefront of technological advances. Compared to other avenues of gaming, online casinos can be cutting edge and constantly adapt to developments in real-time, while console gaming has to wait for updates.
This is particularly useful for developments such as to the roll-out of 5G. Online casinos already offer live streaming technology through their live poker, roulette and blackjack games, and the development of a faster data transfer through 5G means that these functionalities will be even faster [5]. The less time a site needs to be downloaded, the greater the graphics and features of the site, which means online casinos can focus on how they can bring together the streaming elements they already offer with the promise of faster websites that 5G will usher in. Online casinos are often leading the charge with the latest technology and show to site users that they understand how much they want to connect with what technology has to offer us.
Online casinos show a lot of promise based on what has previously been achieved, and the future is definitely bright for those involved in the industry. Operators will constantly need to be looking forward to anticipate the next challenge before the site user even realizes that they want something else.