According to recent figures, the global online casino market is sitting just beneath $70 billion in 2023, with an expected CAGR of 11.7% between now and 2030.
If projections are correct, this would mean that the iGaming industry would be worth $155 billion in just 6 years time.
While this might seem like a big figure, it makes a lot of sense when considering the growth in iGaming’s popularity over the last few years.
In a recent study, it was found that there were nearly 100 million active online casino players around the world, with even more infrequent online betters.
So what exactly is it about the online casino industry that makes it so popular, and is it really going to hit the $155 billion figure in 2030?
The Growth Of Online Casinos
If you wanted to look at the beginning of online casinos, you would have to look as far back as the 1990s, when the first online casinos were launched.
Their success was fair in the beginning, but the majority of players still opted for the traditional casino experience rather than online. This, however, was mainly down to the fact that fewer devices were available.
It wasn’t until the first iPhone was released in 2007 that things started to change. Suddenly, online casinos became far more convenient. All you had to do was take out your phone, log in, and you were playing. When this happened, the CAGR shot up and the industry began to gain by billions of dollars every year.
Realising The Potential Of Online Casinos
This was then assisted by changing laws in the US. Right now, seven states have legalised online casinos, with New Jersey and West Virginia, specifically, seeing a lot of success in the market. Overall, the US contributes $3 billion to the near $70 billion market, and the more states begin to legalise, the higher that number will climb.
Right now in the Middle-East, there also appears to be an incoming sea-change. The UAE has a Wynn casino resort in development, and countries like Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia are gaining a large amount of revenue from legalising the practice. Even outside of these countries, however, online casinos are flourishing, with a number of games and slots available for online players who want to join – visit ArabicCasino.com for an example of one of them.
The Popularity Of Online Casinos
As mentioned before, the biggest reason for this is convenience. Before online casinos were introduced, people had to leave their homes, look for a traditional casino venue, and play their games there.
With online casinos, however, gambling became available for anyone with a phone. Although safety was a question at first, security tech has also upgraded along with the casinos, meaning they have gradually become safer, more efficient, and more secure over the course of their lifespan.
Most online casinos also give an incentive to play. Because the industry is so big, there are thousands of casinos to choose from around the world, and this makes it important for casinos to distinguish themselves.
In 2023, a player can search for online casinos based on the promotions and bonuses they offer, with free spins and loyalty programs also up for grabs.
An Underestimation Of Online Casinos
As the iGaming market has grown, so too has its offshoots. One of the fastest growing industries at the moment is the eSports industry, where people watch and make bets on video games rather than sports, and this is bound to boost the growth of online casinos over the next few years.
With this in mind, the question of whether online casinos will be worth $155 billion by 2030 is not one that needs much thought.
This is one of the most successful industries of the last decade, and it is showing no signs of slowing down – nor is it looking like there’ll be any less of an appetite for it in 6 years. For this reason, it’s more than likely that the $155 billion mark will be reached. In fact, it seems almost more likely that the iGaming industry will surpass that estimation before 2030.
According to recent reports, the gaming market as a whole is set to be worth around $650 billion by 2030, and with more people getting invested in mobile gaming – smartphones account for 45% of video gaming revenue – more people than ever are going to be introduced to the industry. It seems that even the sky is not the limit for iGaming, and $155 billion certainly isn’t either.
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