When the online casino sector launched in the 1990s, no one thought it would grow to become an industry worth over $76 billion. While it’s huge, it faced countless hurdles in its bid to conquer the world, from retrogressive laws to keeping up with changing technology.
Today, the iGaming sector is growing at a rate of 12%, welcoming new players left, right and center. Here’s why.
Increased Internet Connectivity
In 2000, only about 413 million people had access to the Internet. Fast forward to 2021 and the figure has since jumped to more than 3.5 billion. 2005 was the first time one billion people got connected to the Internet.
Since then, Internet connectivity has been growing by an average of 640,000 per day. The most populous countries lead in access to the Internet—China, India, the US, Brazil, Japan, and Russia.
That said, the rest of the world has been catching up fast, from South America to Africa. In fact, some small countries have a connectivity rate of 95%. This has helped spur the growth of online casinos, which is dependent on the Internet to function.
Now, not every country has accomplished 80% Internet connectivity. And that means the iGaming space has room for growth. In fact, analysts believe online casinos could hit more than $100 billion in revenue by 2025.
Increased Legalization
Although Internet connectivity is great, it takes legalization to give most people access to online casinos. Unfortunately, legalizing online casinos has been moving at a pretty slow pace, with half the world yet to regulate the industry.
Initially, many online casinos acquired licenses in tax havens like Panama, Curacao, Isle of Man and Gibraltar. Then Malta, the UK and Sweden got into the casino regulation business. Over time, Spain, Finland, Norway, Australia, Costa Rice and the US created their own iGaming laws.
All the same, concerted efforts to legalize online casinos have helped widen adoption of online casinos tremendously. Many people love to abide by their countries’ laws. If online casinos are banned, they avoid them. When they become legal, they create accounts.
Note: online casino legalization is a work on progress. Tons of nations lack definitive iGaming laws. This forces some people to gamble at offshore casinos while others prefer not to gamble at all. As such, there’s great potential for the industry’s growth as long as more countries legalize it.
Loads of Options
So, you love to play slot machines? Join a slot site—you’ll find hundreds of progressive jackpots, video slots, classic slots, Megaways, and 3D slots. Do you love live casinos because you can play blackjack and poker against human players online? Shop around for a website with live poker, live blackjack and live roulette.
In many cases, you can find all your favorite casino games at one website. And it’s not like the old days when many operators had games from a couple of software dealers. Today, the average casino provides games from more than a dozen developers.
That means you can play slots from NetEnt, Microgaming, Betsoft, BTG, Play’n GO, and Playtech. And you can also play live dealer games from Evolution, NetEnt, Ezugi or Playtech. You can even play scratch cards and bingo online.
Secure, Fast Payments
Over the years, one of the biggest concerns people have about casino sites regards security. More so, people are wary about finances, whether their money is safe at a casino and whether they can cashout their profits hassle-free.
The best casinos assure players of payment safety by availing a variety of payment methods:
- Visa and MasterCard
- Bank Transfer
- PayPal
- Skrill
- EcoPayz
- Skrill and Neteller
- Boku and Zimpler
- Bitcoin and Ethereum
A range of payment options gives people the freedom to select their favorite payment company. It also allows them to perform due diligence in regards to security, ease of use, fees, speed and bonuses.
With that in mind, it’s in your best interest to choose a fast-payout casino. Select an operator that processes withdrawals quickly. Of course, look at the fees and the minimum and maximum you can deposit and withdraw.
Bonuses and Promotions Galore
When you think about it, people love free stuff. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. Quite the contrary, freebies serve many purposes. In the casino space, a no deposit bonus can help you test the waters of online gambling without risking your money.
A no deposit comes in the form of $10 or 20 free spins. It’s a small gift. But as mentioned, it can help you find a great casino easily. Some bonuses, like the 100% first deposit offer, aims to spice up your gameplay.
You can grab for a first deposit bonus worth up to $5000 at some casinos. And if you’re loyal, you can qualify for reload bonuses, VIP rewards, cash back programs and daily quests. Now, many bonuses aren’t exactly free.
When a casino gives you a bonus, it hopes you spend real cash on its games. It also hopes you can become a regular customer. But to ensure no one grabs a bonus, uses it to win cash and closes their account to continue the cycle somewhere else, many casinos have bonus policies.
There’s a limit on the maximum bonus amount you can receive. There’s a rule regarding the games you can play and the time frame. After you win money, there’s a rule about the maximum you can withdraw and under which conditions.
Owing to that backdrop, it’s essential to read bonus policies before you grab a bonus. Pick a bonus if it has great terms. Avoid promotions with punitive conditions.
Summary
The online casino industry is taking the market by storm and it’s easy to see why. There’s increased legalization. More people can access the Internet and there are loads of casinos on the Internet.
Many of them leverage the Internet to provide quality games. Some of them reward you with bonuses to add excitement to gambling online. All the same, read the fine print of casinos before you join them. That’s the best way to separate the wheat from the chaff.
