What will Online Casinos Look Like in 2030?

Posted by Harry Kane on Friday, March 2, 2018

If you’ve ever read George Orwell’s seminal dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, you’ll know that it can be extremely insightful to predict what may lie ahead in the future. Sure, Orwell’s use of creative license may mean that some of his observations remain fanciful, but there’s no doubt that his novel accurately captures the attitudes of civilians towards the governments of the Western world in the modern age.

In a similar vein, looking ahead to the future of the online casino market is also a potentially fascinating and revealing pastime. After all, this sector has been gripped by exponential growth and the proliferation of new technologies during the last decade, with many predicting that virtual may soon be able to replicate the mechanics of corporeal gaming.

The question that remains, of course, is whether or not this is an accurate observation, particularly given the rapid pace and often unpredictable nature of technological advancement in the digital age.

In this post, we’ll address the potential growth path for online gambling in the UK, and ask what the virtual marketplace will look like in the year 2030?

A Look Back – The Growth of Online Gaming Since 2010

As of the tail-end of 2016, online gambling in the UK remained in an extremely healthy and robust state. More specifically, online channels had combined to generate a gross gambling yield (GGY) of £4.5 billion during the previous 12 months, while the virtual market had evolved to claim a 33% of the overall gambling industry.

The figures capped nearly a decade of pronounced and consistent growth in the online gambling sector, aside from a marginal dip in 2010 when online casino revenues and player registrations declined. At the end of this year, it’s thought that just 2% of the UK population gambled online, while older and seasoned gamblers appeared to struggle with making the transition between corporeal and virtual platforms.

Since this time, however, it’s fair to say that the online gambling market has exploded, with the virtual casino sector playing a seminal role in this growth. By 2014, for example, the number of active, online gambling accounts had increased to a staggering 18.14 million, while this figure had risen to 21.57 million just 12 months later. It’s now closer to 25 million, while there’s no sign that this trend is likely to reverse anytime soon.

From the sole perspective of online casino gambling, almost all forms of gameplay have seen exponential growth during the last seven years. Nowhere is this growth more evident than in online slot game niche, where activity levels have soared by a whopping 328% since 2010. Similarly, table and card games have recorded incremental increases of 52% and 26% during the same period, with only poker recording a slight dip due to it’s incredibly skilful nature and lack of appeal among an increasingly influential group of casual gamblers.

The same principle can even be applied to online bingo, which has arguably seen the greatest levels of growth of any online gambling market since 2010. This sector generated an estimated revenue of £26.24 million in 2010, with this figure nearly trebling to an incredible £76.67 million by the end of 2014. By the end of 2016, the value of this market was thought to be in the region of £153 million, and this number will increase further in the years ahead.

This has precipitated the decline of land-based bingo halls throughout the UK, of course, and while this has not yet been the case in the offline casino industry it’s surely only a matter of time before this market loses its relevance.

Then and Now – The Future of Online Casino Gaming

This observation leads us neatly onto the immediate future of online casino gaming, which is sure to grow in popularity as it welcomes Millennials and casual gamblers who are unfamiliar with offline gameplay. From a generational perspective, it’s inevitable that online casino gaming will increase its overall market share during the next decade and beyond, while its more than likely that the number of land-based casinos will continue to dwindle as the medium becomes increasingly obsolete.

Beyond this, what other developments should we expect in the online casino market during the next few years? Perhaps one of the most exciting innovations is the integration of virtual reality (VR) into the online casino market, which is set to become an increasingly influential feature of the industry between now and 2030.

Leading this charge are the innovative development team and NetEnt, which is responsible for producing some of the most fun, complex and interactive slot games in the digital age. They’ve announced that 2018 will see the launch of its first real money, VR slot game, with the title set to hit the online casino market later this years. The classic Gonzo’s Quest title will be reimagined to pilot this exciting venture, with the company having spent the last 12 months developing the underlying technology and ensuring that it is fit for purpose.

Of course, people will point our that VR has already impacted on the virtual casino market, with last year seeing a diverse range of headsets entering the consumer mainstream. Developers have so far been reluctant (or unable) to design online casino games that are compatible with virtual or augmented reality, however, so NetEnt will be breaking new ground in this space in the coming months.

In many ways, this represents the final frontier for online casino gambling, continuing a journey that really began in earnest back in 2010. Since that time, developers and operators have become increasingly focused on replicating an authentic and immersive online gambling experience, and one that makes corporeal gaming increasingly obsolete.

First came the enhanced graphics and realistic audio, for example, which sought to replicate a rudimentary casino online. Then we saw the emergence of live dealer games, which placed a greater emphasis on interaction and created a far more immersive experience. Finally, the last few years have seen developers streamline the details of online gameplay, redefining the pace and of individual games to make them more authentic.

Real-time poker tournaments are now incredibly realistic, for example, while online roulette typically replicates an authentic pace that sees around two spins completed per minutes.

With this in mind, there’s no doubt that the emergence of VR games and casinos will finally bridge the once cavernous gap between off and online gambling, as developers empower you to create an authentic casino setting and experience in the comfort of your own home.

While VR may be the most seminal trend in terms of shaping the online casino market of tomorrow, it is by no means the only one. After all, the last seven years or so have also seen incredible advancements in terms of how players access online games and fund their activity, thanks largely to the development of flash technology, mobile apps and the rise of cryptocurrency.

In terms of the former, flash technology and mobile app technology have revolutionised the accessibility and reliability of online games. In days gone by, players would have to download software in order to access their favourite casino platform and games, and this incurred potential issues in terms of security, delays and the reliability of your connection.

More recently, online operators have leveraged flash technology to deliver a no-download version of their software, which can be instantly accessed via a web browser such as Google Chrome or Internet Explorer. All players are required to do is ensure that a flash plug-in is installed on their system and that they have a secure broadband connection, and if this is the case they can secure an easy and fast connection that can also be sustained for even extended gaming session.

Since 2010, we’ve also seen the sustained sophistication of smartphone and tablet technology, which has empowered online casino operators to create branded mobile apps. These apps effectively replicate flash technology, by offering a secure and fast connection that allows you to play your favourite games wherever you may be. Some can even be accessed without a viable Internet connection, meaning that casual players can leverage casino gameplay to make the daily commute more bearable.

Then we come to cryptocurrency, which has only recently begun to impact on the online casino industry and the way in which players fund their gambling activities. More specifically, we’ve seen a growing number of operators integrate Bitcoin into their platforms, allowing players access a decentralised and transparent system that minimises costs and allows for instant transactions (both deposits and withdrawals).

So, while Bitcoin (which is the poster boy for digital currency and remains the market leader in this space) has endured a chequered past, it is fast emerging as the future of online casinos and has plenty of scope to revolutionise this sector further in the future.

So What Can We Expect in 2030?

The spectre of Bitcoin and similar, burgeoning cryptocurrencies provides a fascinating area of study, and one that will have a key influence on the type of online casino that we’ll see in 2030.

By this time, a large segment of the online market is likely to be dominated by cryptocurrency, with Bitcoin set to become the most popular type method of funding transactions in the future. Aside from the cost benefits and flexibility of digital currency, this also enables players to utilise a separate account for gambling and manage their bankroll responsibly.

The cryptocurrency Ethereum may also drive further innovation in this space between now and 2030, as innovators are considering leveraging this to create a decentralised, autonomous organisation that can regular online casino transactions transparently and without the risk of manipulation. Over time, it could even be developed to eliminate the traditional house edge and create a totally open and transparent gambling experience online, driving fairness and responsible gambling across the board.

So, within the next 12 years, it’s perfectly plausible that we’ll see a number of active, zero house edge casinos in the marketplace, each of which require players to operate solely by using some form of cryptocurrency.

In terms of accessibility, future online casino games will be made available exclusively through branded mobile applications and advanced flash technology. These channels will not only deliver an increasingly secure and reliable user experience, but they’ll also evolve to create a regulated and immersive marketplace that is exceptionally enjoyable.

We should also expect significant graphical and audio improvements during this time, particularly with innovations such as dedicated gaming devices and NVIDIA’s full range of graphics cards set to evolve further in the future.

Above all else, the online casinos of 2030 will probably all offer an advanced VR experience across a host of games and live tournaments. With the first real money, VR slot game to hit the market this year, we fully expect a deluge of similar titles to be developed and released over the coming years. Then, we’re sure to see three-dimensional iterations of roulette, poker and blackjack emerge into the mainstream, before operators transition into full VR casinos that replicate a number of corporeal settings online.

The Last Word

So there you have it; our brief and speculative insight into what online casinos will look like by the year 2030.

We’ll certainly be looking at instantly accessible and three-dimensional platforms, which leverage virtual and augmented reality technologies to provide the final frontier of fully immersive gambling online.

Similarly, these platforms are also likely to be dominated by digital currency and the blockchain technology that underpins this innovation, as online casinos transition fully to the use of Bitcoin and developers strive to create transparent sites that minimise the house edge and create a more compelling proposition to players.

Throw in the advent of virtual reality, and you have a potentially fascinating marketplace that is almost sure to have rendered bricks-and-mortar casinos almost entirely redundant.