How The Casino Market Is Changing

The history of gambling extends all the way back to the days of Ancient China. Yet it wasn’t until the 1600s that dedicated gambling houses – or casinos – started appearing in our cities. One of the earliest casinos is thought to be the Casinò di Venezia in Venice, which opened in the year 1638 (we get the word from the Italian for ‘little house’). But while the Casinò di Venezia is still open for business, the casino market in general has changed dramatically over the past centuries.

Thanks to the rise of iGaming, virtual casinos are more accessible than ever before. Gone are the days when we’d have to visit an establishment to place bets in person – today, casual gamblers and professionals alike can have a shot at the jackpot on sites like Casino Winner, without having to leave the comfort of their own home. 

From new technologies and trends to shifting regulations, this article will explain how the casino market is changing – and what might shape it in the future.  

Virtualisation and the rise of mobile gambling

Mobile gambling has revolutionised the casino market. Between 2011 and 2017, statistics show that the value of the global online gambling industry increased from $30 billion to $45 billion – and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. By the year 2024, it’s estimated that this figure will have climbed to a staggering $94 billion. That means the industry will have tripled in less than fifteen years! 

By contrast, the number of physical land-based casinos is decreasing. According to the UK Gambling Commission, for example, Great Britain saw a 3.2% decrease in licensed premises between March 2018 and 2019. Although more and more people are choosing to gamble, this does not translate to more people visiting casinos in person. The popularity of mobile gambling is thanks to its convenience and inclusivity, and these are selling-points with which land-based casinos aren’t able to compete.  

Regulation and government crack-downs

When the UK Gambling Act was introduced in 2005, it left many Britons concerned that the government was relaxing its gambling laws. In fact, the Act initially sanctioned the building of eight so-called super casinos in major cities – but after Gordon Brown was elected as Prime Minister in 2007, these plans were abandoned and have never been revisited. 

For years, the UK has had one of the freest gambling markets throughout Europe. But recently, Westminster has seen growing pressure from MPs to strengthen its regulations – and in 2019, the government reduced the maximum stake limit from £10 to £2 on fixed odds betting terminals, causing the profits of bookmaker William Hill to fall by over 50%. 

Regulating online casinos can be incredibly difficult. It’s usually illegal for people to access overseas gambling sites that don’t follow their own country’s laws, but it’s very hard for regulators to monitor when this is happening. As a result, there are comparatively few laws currently regarding online casinos. The UK government didn’t introduce any until 2005, despite the fact the first online casino was launched more than a decade before, in 1994. This means that increasing crackdowns are likely to affect physical establishments more, widening the divide between online and off-line casinos.  

Thanks to a combination of technological advancements and increasing regulation, online casinos are likely to continue outperforming physical casinos in the future.