State of the Adaptation: Pretty Good, All Things Considered
Published September 7, 2020 by Lee R
The landscape for iGaming is now built around sustainability, with effectiveness to be proven by retention of a new swathe of players.
It's no secret that 2020 has been a vital year in the history of the still growing iGaming sector, with the pre-existing online model that iGaming is built upon proving more relevant, vital and timely than ever.
Not Automated
A key point standing out is that online gaming is not as automated as it seems: some brick and mortar operations are necessary to support games being played at all times, so some true resilience and grit was shown by service providers in the Covid period to keep delivering.
Decline in Live Employees
In the land-based sector, the decline in live dealer casinos saw many casinos in Europe and other global regions shut down to avoid exposing dealers or producers to ongoing health risks. They are all returning to increased isolation measures.
The iGaming Boom
In the interim, online casinos boomed. The real question is whether players will stay online.
New Tech Like VR
The evolution of tech and gaming platforms requires new gaming software to keep up with all the changes. With VR, the amount of people who now where VR headsets and goggles necessitates an updated interface preserving more VR components and lessening the amount of heavy equipment. To integrate VR into games, iGaming casinos will have to upgrade distribution of online gambling software; adaptation process, and the cost of scaling up integration amongst large groups of online casinos.
The Crypto-factor
The impact of cryptocurrency is starting to be felt as well. Cryptocurrency payments are much faster when done correctly. Tight banking regulations have further driven online casinos to offer the crypto-payment option, with concerns against less regulation of payments leading to proportionally less protection of customers.
E-Sports Rise
E-Sports is rising: by assuming a prominent role in sports betting minds when the sports shutdowns were in effect which has since partially receded, a new foothold for esports betting has nonetheless been firmly established.
Outlook
How iGaming adapts to the newly digitized crowd according to the points discussed will determine how much of the new crowd will be retained, within a model that done right is not only sustainable, but appears preferable in this inconvenient era we will remain in for the indeterminate future.
