While the complexity and scale of the global, online gambling industry can be hard to evaluate, there is no doubt that the outlook for 2016 and beyond is exceptionally healthy.
There are many different strings to this particular bow, online bingo is becoming an increasingly popular and prominent player. Along with the virtual casino and sports betting markets, these entities are leading a charge that will continue at pace into the future.
A Look at the Global Gaming Market: Key Statistics and what they tell us
With this in mind, let’s take a look at three key statistics from the global, online gambling market and decipher their messages for the future of the sector.
- Internet Bingo and Casino sites are the Engines of Growth
Back in 1996, the world’s first-ever Internet casino (InterCasino) launched in Antigua. A total of 18 games were available at this time, and it was not until two years’ later that the first online bingo site became available to players.
Fast forward 18 years, and outlets such as Mad About Bingo have led a charge that has seen thousands of online gambling hubs and mobile apps enter an increasingly competitive marketplace. In fact, the mobile gambling market is commanding a growing share of the sector as a whole, as technology improves and portable gaming becomes more authentic.
- Global Gambling Gross wins equated to $16 billion online in 2015
Of course, it is the players who continue to drive growth in the online gambling market, forcing individual sectors to expand, evolve and ultimately meld with one another.
This is reflected by the constant annual increase in gross gambling wins, which peaked at $16 billion online at the end of last year. The online sector is also growing at a faster rate than the land-based industry, and this is a trend that will gather further momentum in the years ahead.
- Tablets represent the New Face of Global Gaming
A high proportion of global gaming revenue is driven through mobile bingo and casino outlets. This makes perfect sense, but it is interesting to note that tablet gaming is currently growing at a far faster rate than the smartphone alternative.
At the end of 2014 tablets generated 3.51 billion Euros in gaming revenue, but this is predicted to more than double to 8.2 billion Euros by 2018. Tablets are also perfectly suited to the online gambling market, with larger displays and designated devices for gamers available.
We expect tablets to continue to close the gap on smartphones in the next decade, while the emergence of wearable technology will also impact on the figures during this time.