Will Mobile Casinos Eventually Dominate the iGaming Sector?

As we all get used to the reality of 2022 and the continuing presence of COVID-19 in our daily lives, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that mobile casinos are the future of iGaming.

Where once it was a fun and easy experience to drive to your nearest brick and mortar casino, or maybe take a fun trip by plane (remember those?) to Las Vegas or Macau, now we’re faced with restrictions and anxieties due to the pandemic.

Although mobile casino sites have been around for years, online gambling is increasingly at the forefront of the iGaming industry and, spoiler alert, that isn’t going to change any time soon. Pandemic or not, mobile casinos are going to dominate the iGaming sector and the casino industry overall in the near future.

Let’s take a look at why mobile casinos will dominate the iGaming industry and what to expect the future of online gambling to look like.

Why Mobile Casinos are the Future of the iGaming Industry

As we enter the third year of pandemic-related restrictions, it’s easy to see why mobile casinos, sports betting sites, and online poker rooms are doing so well. Not only are veteran gamblers turning to online casinos to play their favorite casino games, but millions of new players around the world are discovering the thrills and excitement of legal online gambling.

That isn’t to say that the pandemic is the only cause behind the rising dominance of mobile casinos. The availability of iPhone casino apps and Android smartphones across the world continues to grow the global population of internet users beyond our wildest dreams. According to Statista, by 2025 the number of smartphone users will have doubled from 2016 to a staggering 7.3 billion users worldwide! As smartphones are often cheaper and more accessible than laptops or PCs, they are exploding in popularity amongst users across the world: particularly in countries such as India which already has over 400 million smartphone users according to Statista.

As more people have access to smartphones and the internet, entertainment mediums such as iGaming are growing in popularity across the world. Mobile casinos allow players in countries with few or no opportunities to gamble, such as India, to play online casino games for real money.

On a general level, mobile casinos are the future of the iGaming industry as they offer all the advantages (and more!) of a physical casino in the palm of your hand. You have all the best casino games available at your fingertips and you don’t need to wait to see if the latest hit slot game will be installed in the casino: they’ll just be added to the already impressive lineup at the online casino.

Mobile casinos are also simply more convenient and you can play online roulette on the go or place a bet on the NBA after reading some exclusive sports betting tips on Twitter.

Mobile casinos also have an advantage over brick and mortar casinos as you can get a huge, exclusive casino bonus and even play with cryptocurrencies for added safety online. All in all, mobile casinos are the future of iGaming.

What Problems are Mobile Casinos Facing?

Although the future is incredibly bright for mobile casinos, there are some stumbling blocks. Currently, the smartphone industry is struggling due to the global chip shortage. While the chip shortage is probably most famous for driving the scarcity of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles, the chip shortage is also starting to affect the smartphone industry. Expect both Apple and Samsung to grapple with supply chain issues in 2022. This may inhibit the exponential growth of smartphone users and therefore might cut into the mobile gaming industry.

Another issue facing mobile casinos relates to the availability of their apps on mobile app stores. Due to local laws and regulations, the Apple and Google app stores don’t always offer casino apps for download. In the United States, the restrictions reflect state legislation: so players in New Jersey can play online casino games and bet on sports, players who like online gambling in Illinois will have to make do with sports betting apps only. This problem is reflected internationally as some countries, like the UK, freely allow licensed mobile casino apps, while countries such as India do not. Although players in these jurisdictions can still access online casinos through their browsers, it does introduce a significant stumbling block to would-be players.

What will the Gaming Industry Be Like in 2025?

It’s scary to think that 2025 is now only three years away! Once we’re a quarter of the way into the 21^st century, the world will be very different from how it was back at the turn of the millennium. The iGaming industry will be nearly unrecognizable by 2025 due to changes in how we use the internet, available technology, and (unfortunately) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With advances in smartphone technology, mobile gambling will probably be preferable to travelling to “real casinos”. With no travel costs and an unbelievable plethora of available games, online casinos will have a distinct advantage over brick and mortar casinos. This will probably be a partial result of the pandemic: players will discover the joys of online gambling and value that more than the experience of heading to Atlantic City or any other regional gambling hub.

We’d also expect the graphics and gameplay of online casino games to be even better in 2025, even rivaling console video games. This isn’t too unrealistic as, even now, AAA video game developers, such as Konami, are focusing on and producing slot machines with 4K graphic based on beloved IPs: the Japan-exclusive Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater pachinko slot machine, for instance, created quite a stir back in 2016. This will make online gambling one of the most exciting entertainment mediums around in 2025!

In 2025, virtual reality will become increasingly integrated into the iGaming industry. Presently, VR is still fairly inaccessible as VR sets are still relatively expensive and the availability of games is limited. That being said, online casinos will start to integrate VR into their offering of online slots and, most interestingly, live casino games. Imagine strapping on your VR headset to be connected to a mobile blackjack or online blackjack game with a live dealer. Why would you ever consider heading to your local casino again?

While sports betting will always remain popular, eSports betting is an unstoppable juggernaut that you should definitely take a look at. Not only are eSports tournaments popular with spectators, they attract massive numbers of viewers online: the 2017 Intel Extreme Masters in Katowice, Poland, had a live crowd of 173,000 and an online audience of 46 million for their CS:GO, League of Legends, and Starcraft II tournaments. Expect eSports betting to rival traditional sports betting over the coming years.

Lastly, we also believe that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will be the deposit method of choice at online casinos by 2025. Not only are they safe to use, cryptocurrencies generally have zero transaction fees and sometimes even have exclusive bonuses! Get ahead of the curve and read more about how to gamble with Bitcoin today!

You don’t have to wait until 2025 to find out how awesome mobile casinos are, take a look at our online casino reviews to find the perfect mobile casino for you!