There is no doubt that the online gambling industry is huge. There are many factors to why this is happening but is it continuing to grow and why? And what can the industry expect in the future?
Online gaming is more convenient
One of the simplest reasons for the popularity of gambling online is it is simply more convenient than going to a traditional bingo hall or casino. You don’t need to travel anywhere to play games. You don’t need to dress up and you don’t need to spend any money on transport.
If you use a portable device for playing games such as a smartphone or tablet then you can virtually play anywhere you like so long as you have access to the internet. If you have downloaded an offline slot machine game then you don’t even need the internet as long as you are just playing for fun and not real money.
The disadvantage is that online gaming is less social. Bingo games often have a chat feature though to let you interact with other players. With the advent of live casinos you can now see the dealer on screen and they can talk to you using your name to add a bit more human interaction into the game.
Free spins and sign up bonuses
Another feature of online gambling that doesn’t exist in land based casinos are bonuses. If you register to join a casino online you will normally receive a new player bonus. This could be free spins for slots or a free sports bet or cash to play on poker. You may receive loyalty bonuses and sports betting sites often give free bets at weekends if you spend a certain amount. Land based casinos rarely offer any incentives for new players and with the online market being so competitive it pays to shop around to get the best bonuses.
Online casinos never close
An online casino does not have opening times, so unless there is a catastrophic server failure the casino of your choice will be available anytime of the day or night. Holidays and lockdowns have no effect on these websites. This is perfect for anyone working odd or anti social hours. For example you may be working night shifts and come home at 7.am. For you this is effectively your evening and you might want some entertainment before you go to bed. Unfortunately 7am is not a great time for going to a bar or a casino but there is nothing to stop you logging into an online gaming site.
More payment methods
Land based casinos mostly require you to play with cash. This is not always convenient. Online casinos let you pay with debit & credit cards, e-wallets such as PayPal and Skrill plus other online payment sites such as Trustly (depending on which country you are in). Some sites allow you to pay in bitcoin. If you do choose to play on a bitcoin gambling site make sure it is a registered, licensed company. There are some bitcoin only websites that are operating unregulated due to loopholes regarding cryptocurrency.
Quick and convenient deposits and withdrawals
As you already know the online casinos have many ways to pay and one of the other advantages they have is depositing money is quick and easy. You will have to go through one security check when signing up. Namely, supplying a scan of a photo ID (such as a passport) with name and age on plus a recent utility bill showing name and address. After that everything is just a few clicks away. Similarly withdrawals are simple and quick. If you have paid with a debit card then any winnings you withdraw will be credited back on to that card.
No distractions
Although you may find online casinos less sociable than traditional ones there are advantages to this. A land based casino can be noisy, with loud music and drunk patrons. At home you can decide on background music, if any and if you want peace and quiet you can simply play your favourite game in your bedroom.
If you enjoy the interaction with other players you can always find casinos or games that have a chat feature like many of the live casino and online bingo games.
You can control your limits
It goes without saying that you should never gamble more than you can afford to lose and onine casinos and bookmakers have controls built in that you can use if you should wish. You can set how many hours you play in a session and also set limits on your deposits, eg how much you can deposit in one go and how many deposits in one week.
Summary
These are just some of the reasons why online casinos have grown so quickly. It remains to be seen if there will be a slow down now that Covid-19 has caused such financial problems for millions of people, but there is no doubt that the industry will continue to grow and online games will become more popular.
