Over the last five years, the world’s gambling industry has been going through a metamorphosis of sorts. There has been an ongoing transition from online gambling to mobile gambling. What does that mean for a fast-growing gambling community?
Changes in the Gambling Industry
We can no longer view online and mobile gambling as a regional form of adult entertainment. As more countries move forward to legalize online gambling activities, country and regional boundaries are disappearing. A big catalyst for this has been a not so subtle shift towards mobile gambling.
Traditionally, gambling has always been a “guy thing.” When online gambling was first introduced in 2000 in the UK, it motivated some members of the opposite sex to start playing online casino games for real cash. However, the ladies didn’t exactly beat a path to the internet, though the numbers are increasing.
Big changes have also taken place across the pond. In America, the laws made it difficult for Americans to gamble online. There were no laws that made the activity illegal, it was just impossible to fund online gambling accounts because of the Wire Act of 1961 and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006.
In May of 2018, the US Supreme Court released the federal government’s stranglehold on sports and online casino gambling. It’s now up to the individual states to decide on these matters for themselves. The US Supreme Court’s decision negated the Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 while the Wire Act remains as is.
The reaction to this change in policy has been swift. To date, twenty-one states have legalized sports gambling with eight of those states also legalizing online/mobile forms of gambling. Of the twenty-one states that legalized sports gambling, twelve states are already accepting sports bets. Six of those are allowing online/mobile gambling, which is changing the way Americans gamble.
With all these changes taking place, the thing that seems to tie everything together has been the internet. From there, a shift towards mobile gambling makes sense given the number of people in the world who have become inseparable from their mobile devices.
Mobile Gambling on the Rise
The Classic street gambling game online moving into new dimension and created a new way for people to gamble, it wasn’t until mobile gambling became a reality that the profile of the average online gambler changed. It’s no coincidence that the convenience of gambling from anywhere at any time is driving people to give mobile gambling a shot.
Here is where mobile gambling has created opportunities for the online gambling industry. Women and younger adults all over the world are flocking to online gambling sites through their mobile devices (smartphones, tablets). More specifically, online casino sites seem to be pulling in the masses from the aforementioned groups of people. This would certainly account for the reason why gambling industry experts are quick to point out that more than 50% of all online gambling is being done through mobile apps. That’s a huge number considering estimates from 3 years ago sat at around 20%. It’s noteworthy that these same experts are predicting the percentage of mobile gamblers could rise to as high as 80% within the next two years.
All of this begs the question: “what is the appeal of mobile gambling for women and younger adults.”
First of all, top software developers have successfully tapped into the intrigue women and younger adults have for video slots. Every week, as many as a dozen new mobile video slots and progressive slots are becoming available for slot enthusiasts. Many of these new slots include great new innovations and bonus features that add to the intrigue.
The second thing about mobile casino gambling that seems to be drawing in women and younger adults is a focus on video slot themes that appeal to these groups. We are seeing a lot more movie/TV themed games coming out. This is a video slot theme that seems to draw people who prefer the comfort of familiarity. We are also seeing a bigger focus on the development of slots that feature cute and adorable icons that are sure to catch the attention of the fairer sex.
The last piece if the mobile gambling puzzle is the inclusion of new innovations. As the mobile online casino industry moves closer to the inclusion of new technologies like Virtual Reality video slots and full service casinos, the younger population is likely to jump all in and join the fun. Truthfully, that day could arrive as soon as this year.
