The iGaming industry is, today, worth around $72 billion. This is an impressive size considering that it essentially didn’t exist at all less than 30 years ago. It’s expected to keep growing for much of the next decade, with some predicting that it could be worth as much as $127.3 billion by 2027 and even more by 2030.

But to comprehend how iGaming can reach these valuations, we first need to look at its history to understand how it got here.

What is iGaming?

iGaming is the collective term used to describe all of the companies that offer online wagering in its various forms. It includes sports betting, casino games, bingo, lotteries, and poker.

It offers its customers access to these services through websites as well as through mobile apps, giving them a lot of freedom.

Early Days

This wasn’t always the case, though. The concept of an iGaming business had been discussed among academics, internet enthusiasts, and entrepreneurs since at least the early 1990s, but it’s likely the idea was conceived earlier.

However, it would take a few separate events to align for the iGaming industry to be born.

Firstly, a legal framework had to be created to permit iGaming companies to begin to operate. This wasn’t exclusive to online betting as ecommerce and other online trading also had to go through this process.

In 1994, the passing of Antigua and Barbuda’s Free Trade and Processing Zone Act created the first place in the world for online poker rooms and betting sites to set up.

With the legal barriers out of the way, only technical challenges were standing in the way of iGaming becoming a success. The first of these was the adoption of home computers, helped considerably by Microsoft’s release of its Windows 95 operating system, which, although it looks primitive by today’s standards, was a revolutionary piece of software for the time. The company sold one million copies in its first four days of sales and 40 million after 12 months.

Once people had computers, they also needed to get online. Widespread adoption of the internet by the general public began to happen in the mid-1990s but accelerated towards the turn of the millennium.

With these factors in place, the first iGaming sites began to launch around 1996 and, within a couple of years, there were hundreds operating around the world.

The Mobile Revolution

As computers got faster, iGaming companies developed more advanced platforms with better graphics, more animations, and crisper sounds. But, for the most part, anyone wanting to play Texas Hold’em at home still had to do it from their computer.

This began to change in the late 2000s and early 2010s after smartphones found their way into the hands and pockets of millions of people. Spotting an opportunity to provide more convenience and a better service to their customers, iGaming brands began launching apps and mobile-friendly sites that allowed players to enjoy games and place wagers on the go.

Today, almost all brands offer some form of mobile access to their services as this is often the preferred platform for their customers.

Continued Innovation

iGaming has proven itself to be an industry that is quick to embrace new technologies. After all, if it didn’t, it wouldn’t have taken off in the 1990s.

We can see this happening today, with companies like PokerStars developing a virtual reality version of its free-to-play platform. This offers a more immersive and more social experience by placing you inside a virtual card room with other players.

Other examples of this innovation include the creation of live games where a real-time video feed of a human dealer is displayed to players through their computer, smartphone or tablet screen. The dealer will control the game, just as they would in a land-based casino, giving verbal instructions to the players and even interacting with them through the messages they leave in the live chat.

Summary

The history of iGaming is one of constant innovation, embracing new ideas, and continually finding new ways to provide convenience and realism to players. These traits are ingrained deep within it as, without them, there wouldn’t have been an industry to begin with. With that in mind, it’s safe to say this will continue well into the future.