How Have New Casinos Improved Online Gambling?

Posted by Harry Kane on Wednesday, May 12, 2021

The global online gambling industry has existed in one form or another since the mid-90s, while it exploded in the UK following the formalisation of the 2005 Gaming Act.

Of course, the iGaming market continues to be dominated by a select few operators, but the last decade has seen a number of smaller, independent casinos (and sportsbooks) make their mark in the sector.

But how have these casinos impacted on the iGaming marketplace, and have they actually improved the industry over time?

1. Creating Increased Accessibility in the Marketplace

Historically, online casinos were accessed almost exclusively through desktop devices, but this trend began to change with the advent of the first iPhone in 2007.

This, along with the continued evolution of the smartphone market in the UK, has helped to drive a sustained increase in the number of mobile casinos, while simultaneously underpinning a mobile penetration rate of 72%.

However, the trend for mobile gambling (which has appreciated over the course of the last decade), has also been driven by the emergence of new and independent iGaming operators, who have sought to compete more aggressively with one another by developing responsively designed casinos and native apps that are compatible with smartphones and tablets.

This trend has also been empowered by the emergence of HTML5 games, which are intuitive and compatible with mobile platforms and completely the negate the need for Flash Player software.

Altogether, these factors have combined to create a more accessible iGaming market in the UK, with players now able to wager across a diverse range of verticals in real-time and through a variety of different devices.

All they need to achieve this is an Internet-enabled device and a mobile browser such as Safari or Chrome, or a downloaded native app that’s compatible with either iOS or Android as required.

As a growing number of independent operators combine to claim a larger share of the overall iGaming market, we’re also likely to see mobile gambling become increasingly prevalent and popular.

Remember, an estimated 51% of all gamblers wagered regularly online at the end of 2018, and this number will continue to increase markedly in the future.

2. Building Awareness of the iGaming Market

While brands such as William Hill and Paddy Power are synonymous with iGaming in the UK, they’re no longer capable of piquing the interest of consumers in the way that they once were.

Similarly, they arguably don’t create the same buzz or excitement in the marketplace, unless the brands in question invest in particularly innovative or memorable marketing campaigns.

The same cannot be said for new or start-up iGaming brands, however, which must focus on creating eye-catching and incentivising promotional campaigns if they’re to compete aggressively in a packed and high-traffic marketplace.

This often requires high levels of creativity, which in turn can successfully target a large consumer audience and potentially build awareness of the wider casino industry.

This has the potential to attract new customers who may be unfamiliar with online gambling, creating an even more lucrative market and a far larger audience of players who wager on a frequent basis.

Of course, recent proposals have pledged to ban advertising in the iGaming space, while we’ve already seen leading brands agree to a couple of temporary, blanket TV ad bans in 2018 and 2020. This would dimmish the ability of new and established operators to target customers with promotional material, while lowering the level of awareness across the board.

For now, however, there’s no doubt that the growing army of new casinos are blazing a trail in terms of iGaming awareness in the UK, thanks to their creativity, innovation and the sheer number of operators that exist in the market.

3. The Rise and Rise of Flexible Payment Methods

We wrote recently about the rise of third-generation blockchain technology, which is evolving to redress many of the flaws that exist with cryptocurrency and tackle significant issues such as scalability.

The constant innovation and evolution in this space has also created a fast-growing selection of cryptocurrencies, with these now boasting a total market capitalisation of $1.96 trillion!

Over time, we’ve seen leading crypto tokens such as Bitcoin (BTC) be adopted by a large number of online casinos, while you’ll also find a growing number of BTC-only platforms available to players online.

Of course, the rise of new casino platforms over the course of the last decade has coincided with the proliferation of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, with these entities most likely to integrate this type of digital payment method into their platforms.

But why are crypto payment methods so appealing to operators and players alike? In simple terms, it introduces an additional layer of security to iGaming transactions, as unique private keys are used to decrypt sensitive data and ensure that account holders retain sole access to their funds.

At the same time, some cryptocurrencies (particularly Litecoin) optimise transaction speeds for the type of small amounts regularly wagered online, while the use of flat and nominal transaction costs (which can occasionally be just a few pence) also enable players to retain as much of their bankroll as possible.

The newer generation of casinos are integrating cryptocurrency along with a wider range of creative and flexible payment options, including e-wallets like Skrill and Neteller.

New casinos are increasingly likely to empower players who want to pay through their smartphone bill, which is a new option offered by some platforms. With this, players can simply add deposits to their phone bill up to a predetermined amount, creating a more accessible (but still safe) market in the process.

So, if you’re a new player who wants to wager using a number of cutting-edge payment methods, a new and independent casino may be the ideal choice for you!