Online Gambling Trends in 2022: What to expect
Online Gambling Trends in 2022: What to expect
Recent years have witnessed continuous growth in the online casino gambling industry and technological improvements that draw players in. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the emergence of online gambling platforms that continue to grow in popularity. With a few taps, you can now access online slots and casino tables wherever you are in the world.
With a constant focus on technological progression, the online gambling industry strives to provide all players with the best possible gambling experience. Since the global pandemic started, their habit of playing in brick-and-mortar casinos has been replaced by online casinos.
Today, despite the re-opening of many casinos, countless players remain interested in playing online. This is one of the reasons that it’s estimated that the entire online gambling industry will reach $565 billion by the year 2022. What is the future of online gambling? In this post, we’ll give our thoughts based on research on what to expect from the online casino industry in 2022. We will also discuss any new trends that have appeared.
Aside from blockchain payments and themed slots, online casinos now also offer live casinos with live dealers. Moving on to 2022, the gambling industry is set to include more cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin as deposit options for online casinos. They will also offer an elevated gambling experience to players by including augmented and virtual reality.
This sector will surely soar in terms of market size and revenue with such trends.
Gambling Regulations Updated
It is not without regulation that online gambling is becoming more popular. Financial crimes such as money laundering and financing terrorism are bound to occur when money is involved. Despite being regulated by the same authorities like financial institutions and banks, the gambling sector does not implement adequate measures to prevent money laundering. Several money laundering cases in 2021 caused casinos to lose large amounts of money, including a reported $1 billion being laundered annually through Australia’s gambling clubs.
Given the current state of gambling-related financial crime, 2022 is expected to restrict these activities significantly. Along with these regulations, online casinos will have to implement additional ways to stop illegal activities by adopting the KYC, which means “Know Your Customer”, by verifying the identity of players.
The growing popularity of mobile gambling
There is still much to learn about the online gambling industry, even though it has already gained significant prominence. Social and mobile gambling has contributed significantly to the success of the gambling industry in recent years. Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets have made it easier for online service providers to offer slot games.
This strategy might not generate direct revenue, but the featured games and paid advertisements keep the company going.
Developers of mobile gambling applications are also hoping to improve player experiences and outperform their competition. Consequently, 2021 saw enhanced visuals to match the astounding screen resolutions of smartphone giants. It is predicted that these enhancements to visual quality will continue in 2022.
Online gambling and virtual reality
Despite being a relatively old concept, virtual reality (VR) has had a profound effect on the industry of online gambling. The increasing use of virtual reality technology creates very interactive online gambling experiences. A growing number of VR devices are readily available on the market, so gambling service providers use this technology to appeal to players.
Players can feel like they are playing at a real casino in the comfort of their homes by using virtual reality to create a realistic gambling environment. Several gaming service providers, including NetEnt, Microgaming, and NextGen, have already begun offering VR-based gambling.
As VR technology advances, artificial intelligence (AI) will also improve the online gambling sector. Gambling service providers can benefit from AI by using data analytics to serve their customers better and detect fraudulent transactions. Shufti Pro’s AI-driven identity verification solution works similarly to detect fake online players and protects gambling platforms from fraud.
Visually enhanced games
Despite fierce competition, casino game developers constantly improve their games. Enhancement of visual quality to match modern screen resolutions implemented by current devices was one of the most noteworthy trends of 2021. The trend will continue in 2022 when the visual quality of games continues to improve even more. Thus aiming to present the players with a genuine, realistic online gambling experience that resembles traditional gambling.
E-sports Betting Growth
Since many players have realized the potential of the unexploited market, e-sports betting demand has grown dramatically over the last decade. Even though it requires a lot of commitment, these gamers want to make money from their gaming experience. Nowadays, a vast number of online gamblers worldwide are placing bets on professional tournaments and contests in games like these:
- Dota 2
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- League of Legends
- Valorant
- Overwatch
- PuBG
- Fortnite
Apps that let you gamble on your smartwatch
Smartwatches are being integrated with gambling services as if laptops and smartphones were not convenient enough. In 2022, we will observe a new trend of iGaming transformed by smartwatches or wearable technology.
The industry is expected to experience massive growth with gaming providers like Microgaming and Playtech offering smartwatch gambling apps. As gambling service providers, we strive to make smartwatch-compatible games as convenient as possible for players. Developers are expected to develop optimized software to ensure fast and efficient gambling activities.
Gambling Legalization in Some Countries
| Brand | Bonus | Type | Code | Play |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | $/€ 300 Bonus + 100 Extra spins | WB | Play | |
 | $ 6000 Bonus + 200 Extra spins | WB | Play | |
 | $/€ 300 Bonus + 100 Extra spins | WB | FRUITZEN100 | Play |
 | $/€ 1000 Welcome Bonus | WB | Play | |
 | 15 Free spins | NDB | Play |
The law does not permit gambling in every country of the world, as you probably already know. This applies to all forms of gambling, including online gambling. Gambling is mainly unregulated in developing countries, so it’s a shadow market where governments don’t earn revenue.
While many of these countries acknowledge this fact, they are working on making gambling transparent and legal, thereby enabling them to profit from it. This will allow many companies to spread globally and offer their casino services to even more players.
Protecting Minors: Regulations
According to the Gambling Commission, approximately 450,000 children aged 11 to 16 access gambling platforms regularly. These alarming numbers have led several regulatory bodies around the globe to pass new rules restricting children’s access to age-restricted content.
The UK government released plans to introduce new laws to verify children’s age to protect children from adult content.
The child protection commissioner’s statements implied that online gambling platforms and providers of other age-restricted services should include robust solutions to prevent children from accessing such websites.
Cryptocurrency as a Payment Method
Bitcoin casinos have been using cryptocurrency for quite some time now. Still, it is expected that in 2022 virtual currencies will reach mass adoption as more and more online betting platforms realize the benefits they provide.
The greater anonymity and transparency provided by cryptocurrency will be more appealing to gambling service providers to secure customers’ transactions. The experts believe cryptocurrency will eventually replace traditional payment methods because it significantly decreases the incidence of identity fraud and establishes trust between participants.
For both service providers and players, the processing of digital currency transactions will be faster and more convenient. Cybercriminals can access the banking information of players using credit cards for online gambling. Unlike traditional payments, crypto payments will not require players to enter any financial information, preventing them from becoming victims of data breaches. Moreover, there are no human entities involved in cryptocurrency as it is decentralized.
Accessibility
Blockchain technology and cryptocurrency regulation as a payment method will prove beneficial in countries where gambling remains illegal. With digital currencies, gambling operators will be able to provide services to a more significant number of players without worrying about getting detected.
The addition of anti-spyware and ad-blockers to crypto makes online gambling more accessible. Online casinos will benefit from this. Additionally, cryptocurrency payments and anti-spyware may increase financial crimes due to their anonymity. Anti-money laundering solutions from Shufti Pro be helpful in such cases. It screens individuals against worldwide watchlists to determine whether they are legitimate players to ensure a secure gambling experience.
Conclusion
In the last two decades, the online gambling industry has progressed and transformed enormously, and it will continue to evolve and adapt to players’ needs. Since online casino competition is more significant than ever before in history, 2022 will be an exciting year for the online casino industry, as many online casinos will try their best to get noticed.
We are sure as 2022 draws to a close, there will be even more technological advances in the online casino industry and brick-and-mortar casinos globally.
We also believe the number of casinos that accept cryptocurrency transactions will more than likely overtake the traditional FIAT online casinos.
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