The gambling industry is growing every year. More and more online casinos appear on the market and they generate higher and higher revenue each year. While the global online gambling market was valued at $44 billion in 2019, the estimate for 2025 is $67 billion. 

Clearly, the coronavirus outbreak and the lockdowns and other restrictions it brought changed the dynamics of the gambling industry and changed customer habits, there are other trends that carry the gambling industry forward. In this article, we are discussing these gambling trends with Szilvia Sultes, a Hungarian iGaming expert. You can read more about her here. 

Mobile technology

Mobile gambling has brought casino games closer to consumers than ever. In developed countries, practically everybody owns a smartphone and it is usually just an arm’s reach away. Fast wifi speeds and 4G (and soon 5G) unlimited data packages are the norms in most households and online casinos offer their free apps or mobile optimized websites. 

You can check out a list of casinos that accept players from Hungary by visiting casino online magyar. The main advantage of playing on mobile devices is that playing can be done anytime anywhere. Gamblers don’t need to buy expensive computer equipment anymore or spend time starting up the computer. Quick games, like video slots, can be played while sitting on the bus or even while watching TV. 

Already more than half of all gambling takes place on mobile devices and it is estimated that in the future mobile gambling will be even more prevalent. 

Artificial intelligence 

AI is already solving many problems and saving countless human working hours in the gambling industry. The areas where AI is used are:

• Chatbots: instead of waiting in line for a customer support agent to solve problems, chatbots can solve complex issues. 
• Customer behaviour analysis: artificial intelligence analysis what the preferences of players are and offers them options and solutions on an individual basis. AI knows what promotions will work with which player and can make the user experience more interesting and less frustrating.
• Control against scammers: unfortunately, many players try to abuse casinos and their fellow players as well. Scammers have been caught using poker bots gaining an unfair advantage in games of poker.
• Improvement of game processes: AI discovers when there is a problem with a game and alerts the developers. 

Blockchain technology

Depositing and withdrawing through cryptocurrency is at present the safest way of payments. Players don’t have to be afraid of the safety of their banking information or debit/credit card details when they pay through blockchain. If you are playing from Hungary, one of the easiest ways to get your hands-on cryptocurrency is getting a Revolut account. 

Blockchain technology uses timestamped and non-editable blocks of records managed by a network of computers and is practically impossible to hack into the system. It brings transparency to transactions and it is the fastest way of depositing in a casino, with the highest limits and zero transaction costs. 

Changes in gambling legislation

The recent years have seen a lot of changes in gambling legislation. Many countries have become less strict and allowed gambling operations in their countries. Gambling revenue can bring significant tax income to countries and legalization of gambling can make it safer and more regulated. 

In Hungary, officially still only games that are run by the Szerencsejáték Zrt. are legal, however, there is little the government can do to block foreign-registered casinos to offer their services to Hungarian players. 

Other countries in Eastern Europe are also seeing changes. Belarus recently legalized the activities of online casinos and legalization of online gambling in Ukraine is on the agenda. 

On the other hand, during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, some countries (for example Portugal) limited online casino advertising in the media as the number of gamblers suddenly rose. 

Conclusion

Gambling is becoming more and more popular every year. In 2020, the biggest influencer was the coronavirus pandemic’s lockdown measures but technological improvements and changing legislations are also helping the growth of gambling online.