For any industry, being able to spot trends and plan for the future is an essential part of success. Large organizations pay huge sums of money to analyze and predict consumer behavior to inform their upcoming business strategy. The iGaming industry is no different, and each year people make predictions as to what the upcoming year may bring.
2020 was a strange year for iGaming and the world as a whole as a pandemic gripped the world and many countries enforced shutdowns. This led to the postponement of sports and the closure of retail casinos, affecting both sports betting and brick and mortar casino gaming. On the other hand, online casinos saw their profits increase as more people than ever signed up to play.
While it’s impossible to know what the future holds for 2021, we can make some educated predictions as to what the year may hold based on current trends and recent events. Below are some of the top predictions from industry experts relating to the iGaming industry in 2021.
Industry Growth
The past few years have seen a dramatic increase in the number of people choosing to gamble online, and it’s expected for this to continue to grow. 2020 saw the emergence of the COVID virus which has meant that non-essential businesses have had to close their doors, including many sportsbooks and casinos. This has led to a growing number of gamblers signing up for online sites, and this growth will no doubt continue into 2021 as lockdowns persist across the world.
The online gambling industry has been predicted to grow at a CAGR of 11.5%, reaching a $127.3 billion value by 2027. This growth is partly thanks to the increasing number of gambling brands that are moving online as well as the availability of mobile gaming. In 20202, around 3 billion people had access to a smartphone, and a large percentage of those regularly used their phones to play games. With more gambling sites optimizing for mobile use, 2021 will no doubt see an increase in the number of people signing up to play and bet from their phones or tablets.
New Payment Methods Including Adoption of Cryptocurrency
Making payments at online gambling sites is often a significant barrier of entry for a lot of potential players. While most sites try to make the payment process as simple as possible, there are often still a lot of hoops that the customer needs to jump through to make a deposit. On top of security concerns, this often puts off a lot of would-be online gamblers, leading to lower revenues.
The iGaming industry is always looking for ways to improve the payment process, and as a result, we predict that 2021 will see several changes in how payments can be made. Services like Trustly offer a more secure method for online payments and provide peace of mind to consumers as well as making the payment process much simpler. As these services grow in popularity, we expect to see more online casinos and sportsbooks accepting them as payment methods.
Cryptocurrency had a great year in 2020 as coins such as Bitcoin surged in popularity and significantly increased in value. This rise in value was partly thanks to PayPal now allowing cryptocurrencies to be bought and sold through its platform and will potentially lead to wider adoption of these digital currencies. At the moment, major cryptocurrencies are accepted by only a few gambling sites and not many of the major brands. In 2021, this is expected to change as more sites start to see the value in accepting crypto payments and will even offer withdrawals in major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
More focus on eSports Betting
eSports were some of the few competitions which were largely unaffected by the global shutdown in 2020. While major sports leagues such as the NBA, NFL and Premier League all closed down temporarily, eSports were able to continue online. This brought the spotlight onto a sport that’s been gradually increasing its market share in the past few years.
eSports have gone from a relatively fringe event to a mainstream hobby recently. It has gained further legitimacy from sportsbooks that now offer markets on lots of different eSports events. When sports bettors had reduced options to bet on, they found that eSports were still available and the number of eSports bets placed during this period rose significantly. It remains to be seen whether this will cause an increase in the number of eSports fans, but considering the sport has been growing steadily in popularity, we expect it to continue.
With major sports leagues potentially facing more shutdowns in 2021, we expect that more sportsbooks will start to offer markets on eSports events as they’ll be keen to avoid further losses in revenue. Major eSports competitions are expected to continue online, for now, avoiding any major disruption to schedules.
Expanding Markets in Indian and Latin America
The Indian iGaming market is currently worth an estimated $930 million and is going through a period of rapid growth. The market’s total value is expected to quadruple over the next decade, putting it as one of the largest gambling markets in the world. There’s a growing interest among Indians in traditional sports betting as well as eSports betting and casino gaming. The market is still relatively new with little saturation and plenty of opportunities for companies to grow provided they have one of the accepted licenses to operate in the country.
Latin America, particularly Brazil and Colombia, are also emerging and showing potential for growth in iGaming. Colombia was the first Latin American country to fully legalize and regulate online gambling in 2016. Growing demand for sports betting and other forms of gambling mean the country is an excellent opportunity for iGaming businesses. Brazil’s gambling market has largely been illegal, but recent years have seen the introduction of new regulations, and the country looks poised to allow online gambling. It’s worth noting that Brazil has the fourth-highest number of internet users in the world, showing the massive potential for iGaming growth in the country.
Final Thoughts
After an unusual 2020, there’s still a lot of uncertainty over how 2021 will look. What we can expect, however, is that the online iGaming industry will continue growing and developing. The growth of the mobile market is another big factor as more sites optimise for mobile users and include mobile-only features. With growth into new markets and emerging demand for eSports betting, the future looks bright for online iGaming.
