The year 2020 could become a pivotal year for online casinos. The coronavirus pandemic shutdown has resulted in unprecedented demand and game developers, casino operators and others are rushing keep current. Nothing is static in this industry and especially now, casinos can’t sit back and rest on their laurels. They must attend to the changing demands and expectations of their customers if they intend to reach the top of the market.
Casino advisors are encouraging the industry to pay careful attention to the changing trends. New companies are joining and consumer demand is growing. But customers don’t want to see the same online casino that was available in 2010 – they expect more interactive games, better bonuses and more interactive options.
Online casinos must turn to a more customer-driven focus. If players, who now have more possibilities than ever to satisfy their interest in gaming entertainment, don’t find what they want at the online casino, they’ll look elsewhere.
Some observations about how the online casino can provide players with the best real money gaming opportunities.
Overview
Over the last 10 years, the online casino market came to include hundreds of online casinos. In the early years there always seemed to be room for one more site. New sites proliferated. Different casinos focused on different sectors of the market – some delivered high-quality services with a focus on customer retention while others were satisfied with providing a low-cost, fair service that was enough make it profitable and give them a return on their investment.
However, as the demand kept growing, new companies and investors entered the market. Some of these new sites were good and stable while others delivered less-than-adequate service. Now, many casinos are finding that the market is saturated. Even though online casino searches were at an all-time high during the recent coronavirus lockdown, that pace may very well not last. Casino observers say that, for that reason, serious online casino platforms must reevaluate their business strategy so that they can stay in business by giving players what they want.
Online gambling is changing. Data shows that serious gamblers are focusing on playing virtual sports as well as online slots and poker. But beyond that, it’s important to look at some of the changes that are being made, as well as those that need to be made in the near future.
Games
The games need to be improved. Game designers must come up with solutions that will integrate HD designs on mobile devices. HD technology is expanding and that’s good news for game developers. But the designers will need to prioritize the technology in their new games.
Portable innovation is improving. Live streaming now makes it easier than ever to play live dealer games as well as to play social games against other players. Gamers are looking for just this kind of engagement and online casinos who want to stand out must jump on the bandwagon and make it a central part of their platforms.
This is especially applicable to poker which is, when all is said and done, a social game. Video poker machines can be fun but players who want to enjoy a more authentic poker experience are looking for opportunities to engage in a social atmosphere through real life competition. That’s where the live streaming comes in. Through live streaming the players can watch each other as they make their bets, trade in their cards and then lay out their hands to determine who has won. The online casinos that make that a reality are the ones that are most likely to flourish.
Reality Casinos
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are two standard features in most new video games and many online casino players would like to see this technology incorporated into casino games. In fact, it’s assumed that the online casinos that feature AR and VR games are the ones most likely to thrive in the coming decade.
This Extended Reality allows players to feel as though they’re more intimately involved in the game. Augmented reality refers to an interactive experience in which the objects that reside in a real-world environment are enhanced using computer-generated perceptual information.
The AR experience involves visual, auditory and other sensory modalities. The goal of AR is to give the gamer a gaming adventure in which real worlds and virtual worlds intertwine through 3D registration of real and virtual objects and real-time interaction.
Virtual Reality has elements that are similar to augmented reality. VR refers to an artificial environment where the user is invited to relate to it as though it’s real.
Mobile
Most online casinos have gone mobile but not all. In the near future, any online casino that isn’t available on mobile is going to become completely obsolete. Online casinos should review all of their games, one by one, to make sure that the games are mobile-enabled. Some casino advisors are even suggesting that the casinos get rid of any games that don’t play on mobile in order to prevent player frustration.
Banking
Today, there are multiple types of ibanking option including credit and debit cards, evouchers and wire transfers. Increasingly, gamers are looking for abilities to transfer funds via cybercurrency. Most casinos that accept cybercurrency transactions work with bitcoin but there are other cryptocurrency options as well.
It’s important for the online casinos to be as flexible as possible regarding the new cryptocurrency payment methods in order to attract and retain as many players as possible.
Sophistication
Gamers are increasingly sophisticated these days. Some of the things that casinos should avoid include:
- Wagering requirements and hidden terms on casino bonuses
- Incompreheisible Terms & Conditions
- Poor navigational tools on the site
- Poor customer support
- Complicated pay-out processes or delayed payouts
- Inaccessible information about the casino’s licensing
Casinos should remember that players won’t return to a casino where they’ve had a bad experience. Not only that, but they’re likely to spread the information, via online reviews and social media, about their bad experience. Therefore, it’s to the casinos’ benefit to clean up any difficulties now, while the demand is high, in order to benefit later on when competition among the various online casinos heats up again.
