The Tech That Will Underpin iGaming in 2021

Posted by Harry Kane on Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Like most online marketplaces, the global iGaming space remains both reliant and contingent on new technologies and continued innovation.

This trend is one that has supported huge growth in the marketplace over the course of the last decade, with the world’s total iGaming GGY having reached $53.7 billion back in 2019.

What’s more, it’s expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.5% between 2020 and 2027, with innovation playing a pivotal role in driving this expansion.

But what technologies will underpin iGaming in 2021, and what impact will these innovations have on the marketplace as a whole?

1. The Rise and Rise of Artificial Intelligence

Let’s start with a basic and surprisingly controversial assertion; artificial intelligence (AI) is now a fully mature technology that’s poised to deliver on its immense potential.

It has certainly been used in the iGaming sector for years now, with one of the most common applications taking the form of customer service and support.

More specifically, contemporary operator’s live chat feature (which is typically available for 24 hours a day) utilises advanced chatbots to deliver reliable non-voice support. These entities work by distinguishing prominent keywords when players pose a question or make an inquiry, thanks to the power of machine learning and continued testing.

This provides quick and accessible help for all but the most generic queries, while it enables casino brands to maintain a more time and cost-efficient operation over time.

Artificial intelligence is also used by online casinos to target prospective customers more effectively with their advertisements, with AI-powered algorithms delivering huge swathes of insightful and targeted data.

Going forward, we’ll also see AI become increasingly prominent in the realm of player identification, which has become a hot topic in recent times after the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has taken proactive steps to introduce more stringent verification measures.

Nowadays, casinos are required to verify a new player’s identity before they complete their first deposit or place a wager, so most have opted to automatically approve customer ID based on the formation provided at the time of registration.

This way, brands can comply with the requirements of the ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) process, while also optimising turnover and ensuring that players are of the requisite age to gamble.

In truth, this represents just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the application of AI in the iGaming market, which continues to evolve at a frightening pace.

2. Appraising the Impact of Augmented and Virtual Reality

Once again, neither augmented or virtual reality (AR or VR) can claim to be new technologies, but it’s fair to say that they have yet to truly dominate the consumer mainstream.

However, they have found something of a natural niche in the world of gaming and entertainment, with a variety of headset and products having been evolved to create increasingly immersive experiences online.

Augmented reality remains the most relevant to online gambling, primarily because this adds digital elements to a live view simply by using camera technology. You can find prominent examples of this at live online casinos, while outside of the iGaming realm, Snapchat lenses are based on the same technology.

This is very different from virtual reality, which implies a concrete immersion experience that completely shuts out the corporeal world and transports you to a new and completely imagined realm.

We’re certainly going to see AR casinos become more prevalent in 2021, while the development and deployment of mobile headsets will also take the iGaming market by storm over the course of the next 12 months and beyond.

3. Emerging Crypto-based Casinos

In case you didn’t know, cryptocurrency has enjoyed a stellar year in 2020, particularly from the perspective of the market leader Bitcoin.

While investors were provided with a stark reminder of Bitcoin’s volatility at the beginning of the week (when the asset’s value plunged by more than 20%), this came after the token reached its highest ever mark of $42,000 at the end of last week.

With tokens such as Ethereum and Ripple having also recorded stellar years in 2020, there’s no doubt that this year could see a huge number of cryptocurrency casinos launched across a wide array of platforms.

Of course, there are numerous advantages to cryptocurrency casinos, not least the fact they eliminate third party control. As a result, players don’t need to pay fees when completing transactions, nor are they of risk of their data or payments being manipulated.

The payments completed through crypto tokens are also completely immutable and transparent, so you can process transactions with complete trust.

Perhaps even more pertinently, they guarantee complete anonymity for players, and in this respect, cryptocurrency provides a viable alternative for players who don’t want iGaming-related transactions to show up on their bank statements.

We’d anticipate an increase in Ethereum casinos this year, as despite the increased value of the token, it’s far more affordable than Bitcoin and also offers considerably more from the perspective of versatility.

4. A Word on E-Sports Betting

We close with a word on E-sports, which remains one of the fastest growing niches in the iGaming realm and will continue to expand at pace throughout 2021.

At the current rate of growth, it’s anticipated that more than $16 billion will be placed on annual wagers in the coming years, compared to a cumulative turnover of just $1 billion at the end of 2019.

Over time, e-sports could even evolve to claim the highest share of the iGaming market, as a growing number of tech-savvy punters seek out new, unique and increasingly immersive wagering opportunities.

One of the most likely developments this year will see the wider e-sports network extended, with a view to increasing viewership exponentially and optimising the number of both frequent and infrequent audience members in the process.

While 2021 will represent the very start of this process, with Newzoo predicting that the annual rate of e-sports viewership will increase by 14% by the end of the year.

In numerical terms, this will equate to a total of 307 million periodic watchers and 250 ardent e-sports fans, creating a cumulative global audience of 557 million by the end of 2021.