State of the Industry: Cloudy 2020 in No Way Dampens a Bright Future
Published January 7, 2021 by Lee R
Pandemic aside, the growth of iGaming is set to sustain the entire gambling industry.
No market has absorbed the economic hit from the pandemic like gambling.
Accelerating Growth
That's because of the rapid expansion of the iGaming sector, predicted to accelerate in coming years.
Online research tank Statista projects the global online gambling market to top 92.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, up from today's $59 billion U.S. Dollars.
Drivers
Statista cites drivers of iGaming sector growth as the advancement of available technology (e.g. smartphones and apps); increasing trust in payment systems; the increasing digitization of the world; and online gambling market growth in many regions.
Diversification in the US
The legalisation of sports betting in the US in 2018 has particularly empowered online gambling companies to grow their sport betting sectors. The introduction and rise of iGaming companies to the stock market includes 500.com Limited (NYSE: WBAI), Playgon Games Inc. (OTCQB: PLGNF) (TSX-V: DEAL), DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ: DKNG), Elys Game Technology, Corp. (NASDAQ: ELYS), International Game Technology PLC (NYSE: IGT).
Online Casinos Rise
Gambler's Daily Digest predicts online casinos to be the “next big thing” in gambling—with online gaming already growing substantially in size, revenue, and popularity since it's introduction.
The Beginning of iGaming
Regulated online gambling first surfaced in 1994, when the Republic of Antigua and Barbuda passed its Free Trade and Processing act, and an online casino company called Microgaming was formed, maintaining the claim to this day of being the first provider of real money live casino.
Technological Competition
From there there open market competition fueled the development of technology to power the games and the technology to support the financial systems needed to process customer transactions.
Key Foundational Features
Early competitive features which still thrive today include progressive jackpots, themed slots, and multiplayer games.
Online Sports Betting
Sports betting began around the same time as online casinos, with Intertops being the first online betting site established, in 1996.
The introduction of sports betting to online casinos is cited in the same research as the key integration that will drive growth.
Outlook
Today, the modest beginnings of iGaming have adapted and diversified into financial holdings whose growth rates sustain the entire industry, showing resilience to the most menacing economic crisis the industry has ever seen, with the future still brighter than ever.
