Online casinos are some of the fastest growing businesses on the planet. There seems to be no stopping or slowing down this industry, as it adapts to the world around it and new technology.
The influence of technology
Due to the competitiveness of the industry, it’s essential that they adapt to the latest technology trends quickly. Innovations such as augmented and virtual reality are just some of the ones rocking the industry.
This is a trend that seems set to continue in the long term, as there’s always some new way to play to experiment with.
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Wearable devices aren’t being too well developed for within the industry, with just a few games available to play through this method. This may well change in the future, as developers recognise the increased demand for games on this scale. The wearables industry is an up and coming one, so it may merit effort on the part of developers in future.
Devices like Google Carboard act as ways to enhance existing technology, by adding in a virtual reality element. This is an elegant solution to the problem posed by the cost and availability of full VR headsets. With these kinds of solutions in the mainstream, there’s much more likelihood that developers will focus on creating these games.
The graphics and gameplay that can be created on a mobile device are getting ever more impressive too. There’s very little in the way of differences between what kind of casino games can be played on desktop and on mobile. Developers tend to create their games to be played both on mobile and desktop for cross platform functionality. Generally, most games that you’ll find online these days will be available on both mobile and desktop.
There’s a subset of games that are also available for those on mobile exclusively. These can be ideal for players using their smartphone or tablet, as they don’t need to feel like they are missing out on any games. The emphasis here is more on quality rather than quantity, as there aren’t quite as many of these games.
Safety and security
Players are now hyper aware of their own safety and security when they play online, as they have been further educated as to the risk of fraud and how to prevent it. Thanks to online campaigns and literature, the average player knows how to keep themselves safe online.
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The alternate payments market is another aspect of casino related commerce that is booming. Businesses like PayPal and Paysafecard handle thousands of casino deposits on a daily basis. This provides room within this territory for growth, as innovative businesses find new ways to protect people online.
Successful casino sites tend to be ones that offer a decent mixture of payment methods, both alternate and traditional. If they adopt newer payment methods like Bitcoin and phone bill payments, then they can be in the minority to do so. Then, players wishing to use this payment
method will be drawn to this casino.
Zimpler and cryptocurrencies are among the newer payment methods, which will be likely to make a splash within the casino market. Few casinos accept these at the moment, but they may be rolled out to more as time goes by.
Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency on the market but there are many others out there that players may wish to use to deposit. 128-bit SSL security is the industry standard now, though this will no doubt be enhanced over the years too. As hacking techniques become more sophisticated, the way in which encryption must be handled will also become more secure.
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The chances of this encryption being hacked is slim to none, but there may be a way in which this could happen in future.
Unique promotions and jackpots
It’s very simple these days for an operator to select a network that they wish to run their platform on. With this, they are given a theme, set of games and group of promotions.
They join the ranks of hundreds of other cookie cutter sites that don’t seem to offer anything of value to players. This is no longer good enough, as discerning players just won’t join or stick around with these sites.
It’s much preferable to have a site with unique features and promotions, as networked promotions can come with very slim chances of winning for players. In leaderboard or prize draw promotions, the more players that are taking part, the more each individual has to bet to be in with a chance.
Smaller area promotions that take part on a single site are much better for players. Similarly, networked jackpots can have their jackpot amount rising much quicker than a standalone jackpot, though a single player has a smaller chance of winning it for themselves. Progressive jackpot games can already be fickle and have a low return to player, when spread across an entire network of sites the chance of winning is diluted even further.
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While we still want the chance to earn a lot of money, we also want our chances of winning to be realistic. With networked jackpots, this can be a mere dream as the return to player is so low.
In the future, sites must really up their game and stand out from the crowd if they want players to be interested in their offerings once more. Value for money and unique offers are both important for players, more sites must do their part to offer this if they wish to thrive in the long term.
The future of online casinos is bright on the whole, with most sites being flexible enough to change with their players. When they become too rigid or stuck to one ideal, they can find themselves struggling to attract and retain players. Those that change with the times are the ones that will be successful for years to come.
