For gambling operators last year was pretty good, which is confirmed by a large number of gambling providers. But this is already in the past, and we are more interested in the question – what will happen in the future? What business climate does the gambling business expect in 2017? What impact will it have on new trends in politics?

Online gambling

In 2016, the global online gambling market grew by more than 9%, as more than 85 countries worldwide legalized online gambling. Online bets and online casinos together account for 70% of revenues from the online gambling market. Online gambling is a huge success because of the wide range of games offered and the convenience of the game without any restrictions. China, the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States, France, Germany and Italy are some of the key countries that generate revenue in the market.

The global online gambling market is expected to exceed $ 60 billion by 2020.

Consolidation of the online gambling market

In recent years, the development of online gambling is determined by the fact that the development of the online gambling market has not yet reached its maximum, however, it is very close to this. This led to some takeovers and mergers of gambling companies. Some of them occurred for strategic reasons, others – for example, the absorption of Bwin, – because companies simply can’t stand competition alone. And in the future, with the development of technology and changing consumer preferences, the level of competition in the market will only increase.

New technologies for the gambling industry

New technologies continue to have a strong impact on markets. Mobile gambling will continue to grow and develop, this is beyond doubt. However, this growth, with the increase in the speed of mobile data transmission, is possible only for new and better products. But for users, these changes should not be particularly noticeable – probably, improvements will occur in the background.

Technologies of virtual and augmented realities can also present surprises. It can be assumed that, thanks to the development of Microsoft HoloLens, Playstation VR and HTC Vive, one day slots and other games will become as vivid and impressive as ever.

Security is a big problem

Security issues, taking into account the development of new technologies and their influence, are a big problem for gambling companies online. Recently, DDoS attacks on gaming resources have become popular, in the past year they have been hit hard by online bookmakers. It turned out that even such giants as William Hill are not immune to such attacks – in the autumn of last year for two days the services of the British operator worked intermittently. Given that on the day WillHill earn 5.4 million dollars, losses from hacker attacks can be considered serious. Therefore, the investment of gambling operators in security in 2017 will be large.

The increase in the number of gamblers among women

In 2015, the growth trend of gambling among women was formed, last year it gained strength, and in 2017 growth is expected to continue. Studies show that women prefer to gamble privately, on their personal electronic devices, where they can play confidently and not be afraid of the mockery of male players. And women under the age of 35 are much more active in games than women older than 35 years.

Increased penetration of credit and debit cards

The biggest problem of online gambling is legal differences in different countries. Although some countries allow land-based casinos, as they contribute to the development of tourism, they are extremely strict about online gambling. Examples include countries such as South Korea, Japan, Portugal and Norway. However, online gambling can not be completely banned, because users can easily access foreign websites through proxy and freely play gambling using international credit or debit cards.

The governments of countries do not take serious measures to ban these websites for two reasons:

They assume that people who participate in such activities are sufficiently educated and aware of the consequences, or are financially secured, so that the losses cause them significant damage.

The second reason is that a complete ban on foreign gambling resources will force advertisers not to advertise on national websites, which will lead to loss of revenue.

Change in consumer habits

One of the key trends in the gambling industry is the growth of the market of social and mobile gambling. The increase in the number of mobile device users has accelerated the growth of online gambling and betting market. Social games that earn money on monetization in social networks, today are one of the main directions in gambling, followed by players.

Now there is a significant change in the behavior of consumers in the global online gambling market. Increasing the popularity of social gaming applications is the main factor that is expected to contribute to market growth. Suppliers of gambling software follow the trend and increase funding for the development of innovative social gambling for mobile devices. The number of people participating in the social gambling business is growing, as they are motivated to “compete with friends.” Other reasons for the growth in the number of social gamers are:

• Communication and interaction with the help of games,
• Convenient gameplay,
• Multiplayer gaming tournaments.

In addition, the wider use of the F2P (Free to Play) model in social games will also stimulate market growth. This model does not generate revenue directly, because it does not charge a fee for participation. Instead, revenue is generated through the sales of virtual goods, which open up access to more opportunities for the game or give an advantage over competitors.