The casinos and resorts industry has undergone tremendous changes over the last couple of decades. The changes, which include but not limited to an increase in social online gaming have impacted some of the players in the market positively while others have struggled to adapt to the trend. A case in point is Caesars Entertainment (CZR), which three months ago emerged from one of the most excruciating bankruptcies in recent memory. The impact of online gaming took most players in the Casinos and Resorts industry players by surprise and Caesars couldn’t dodge the consequences.

Some companies had dismissed online gaming platforms as a potential threat to the mainstream gambling market. However, after the events of the last few years, most land-based casinos now have sought to open online platforms or partnered with online gaming companies to penetrate a market that is rapidly becoming one of the most disruptive forces in the industry. When you look at the features offered at an online casino versus what players get from a land-based casino, you can see why many players, especially those joining the market for the first time are opting for the online platforms. These platforms have become more than just online gambling portals.

In the U.S. real money, online gambling is legal in just a few states and this makes it difficult for online gambling companies to make money from the world’s largest economy. This is not good for the industry given the emerging trends in gaming.

The current and the next generation of gamblers will be inclined towards online gambling platforms more than they will be towards land-based casinos. Here, we are talking about the impact of technology on the gaming industry with social gaming apps influencing developments in other market segments of the gambling industry.

The world is becoming more connected in the sense that once connected via an internet-enabled device like a smartphone, then the time difference and the distance between two players becomes non-existent. It is a totally new virtual world that companies are trying to make better by utilizing other technologies like virtual reality and augmented reality.

Now, most companies in the online gaming sector are only trying to target social gaming with virtual and augmented reality applications. However, there are those who believe that this could as well be the future of online casinos. Currently, there are barely any online casinos equipped with virtual and augmented reality features. However, as more companies continue to embrace the latest gaming trends, the numbers will soar.

However, even with this level of growth, land-based casinos still account for the larger share of the market. According to a research report published by TechNovio in 2016, land-based casinos accounted for 87% of the annual revenues. The overall Casino market which was valued at about $$228 billion is expected to hit $311 billion in 2021 and a huge chunk of this growth is projected to come from online gambling.

This implies that unless more states within the U.S. soften their stance on online gambling, then growth opportunities for the industry are primarily going to come from Europe and Asia. Mobile devices are expected to play a crucial role as they continue to bring more people to the grid via mobile gaming applications.

As such, companies like Caesars Entertainment may be forced to diversify their investments further in these growth markets to augment their activities in the U.S. Caesars Entertainment has indicated that following its emergence from bankruptcy, its main focus will be on growth, which entails among other avenues, using its vast acres of land to set up new gambling outlets. Nonetheless, it remains to be seen whether this will be enough to prevent it from falling back to the previous problems that forced it to go into bankruptcy.

Conclusion

In summary, the gambling industry is composed of several market segments. The social gaming segment is viewed as an industry that lets players have more fun than making money, whereas segments like online casinos and sports betting as seen as excellent avenues for real money gambling.

However, social gaming has completely changed how the creators of real money gambling platforms (including online casinos) approach the market. Some now already have AR and VR features. These innovative technologies are what analysts believe will trigger more growth opportunities for the gambling industry. The industry’s growth has historically been tied to the experiential hospitality market, but that could change in the foreseeable future.