Future Of Online Gambling Prediction
One of the questions that I think about on a regular basis is “what is the future of the online gambling industry?“. I don’t think anybody can really tell you the answer to this, as the industry is constantly changing and is repeatedly given hurdles to overcome. After UIGEA came in to effect back in 2006 many people in the industry thought the sky was falling, but as we have since seen things have only continued to grow. Even just about a week ago much more pressure was put on the banks and credit card companies to stop transactions to online gambling companies. As much as they try though, they will never be able to stop it completely.
One of the biggest beliefs in the industry is that we will see increased government regulation. We all know how greedy the government is, and if they see a spot where they are losing out (especially in a multi-billion dollar industry) they are eventually going to do what it takes to wipe out the competition and who is to stop them. They will just use the excuse that pretty much anyone can open an online casino, steal your money and dissapear the next day. Unfortunately this is somewhat true, but this is why players need to make well informed decisions about who they are trusting their money with. If I am dumb enough to sign up at some casino that sent me a spam email without checking into who the company is, how long they have been in business, or if there are any known issues, then I think that is my fault for being an idiot. Regardless, government regulation is already starting to happen around the world. For example the Sweedish government runs a state owned poker site called Svenska Spel which is one of the largest online poker sites!
I too believe that the future will be in government regulation though if done improperly will be a huge failure. Ideally I think the best way would be for the government to become somewhat of an affiliate and make a % of anything earned for a player in their Country. That way you let the people stay in power that know what they are doing, do it well, rather than let some experiment come in where the only person losing is the player.
Could you imagine if USGovPoker.com launched? That would mean no first deposit bonuses, no guaranteed tournaments, no comps or player points, definitely no rakeback, and just an all around boring poker site. I would rather see them issue licenses to well known companies like Pokerstars, Party Gaming, or 888 who know what they are doing already and do it well.
Other than government regulation I believe you will see some more smaller changes to the industry. Mobile gaming will continue to grow in popularity to the point where it could become one of the more popular ways to play. With cell phone companies constantly working to improve the speed of their network, the issues of the past with poor connections will disappear. Live dealer technologies will also be something that will grow in popularity. We could even see a poker site launch that uses real dealers (similar to how many casinos are doing it) that deal real cards to a camera / card reader somewhere in the middle of Latvia or some other eastern European country. Lastly I think you will see even more improved graphical interfaces. Many more sites will offer 3D type experiences and try to make a super-fast visually stimulating gaming experience.
The biggest issues for the industry in my opinion will be the continued issues with handling money. From deposits to withdrawals we will still see many problems and a constant revolving door of payment processors. I can’t even keep up with them anymore because they change so often.
No matter what, it will be intersting to see the online gambling industry in 10 years. It definitely isn’t going anywhere it just will come down to who is the ones in control of it. Also, don’t forget that even though some shady things happen online doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen offline in casinos too!
Thanks for reading! Post any predictions you might have below.
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