You don’t need to be passionate about the tech space to have noticed the rise of iGaming in recent years. From seemingly nowhere, the industry has risen to the top, coming to dominate a global market that is increasingly drawn towards online gaming. The numbers surrounding the industry are extremely impressive, too — in 2024, the industry will be worth a staggering $94 billion, no loose change by any stretch of the imagination.
Source: pexels.com
So how did iGaming manage to become so successful? Let’s take a look.
Secure Websites
iGaming websites have been around for a long time. It’s just that, in the early days of the internet, very few people were using them. And while there are various factors responsible for that, the most influential aspect was the perceived lack of security (which was the correct perception). As with eCommerce retail, people were intuitively suspicious about handing over their personal data to a website. There was a lack of trust. The industry has invested a lot of time, effort, and money into ensuring that its websites are safe and secure, and today, people are much more comfortable inputting their personal data than they were even a few years ago. It’s an industry that couldn’t exist without trust — but happily, there is.
Investment in Design
It’s not just under the hood that iGaming websites excel. Some of the world’s best UX designers work in the iGaming industry, and that has helped to create a positive user experience. Even people who were interested in iGaming would probably give it a miss if the website looked like they were stuck in the early 2000s. The iGaming industry doesn’t just keep up with design trends, but actively pushes them forward.
Attracting an Audience
Even with the best website in the world, there’s no guarantee of success. For that, you’ll need to attract an audience. And that’s something that the iGaming industry has been keen to do, often using innovative methods which benefit both the industry and the consumer, as seen in the availability of introductory slot game deals, which allow the player to trial a website risk-free. There has also been a concentrated effort to advertise the industry in a variety of markets, such as television, social media, and sports team sponsorships.
Customer Feedback
Customer trust plays a big role in all online industries, and the iGaming industry is no different. In fact, it’s arguably more important. The industry has helped to foster trustful relations with customers in two ways. First, by soliciting feedback from users of the websites, in a bid to find out how to make them better. And second, by creating review websites, where potential players can get an independent assessment of the pros and cons of a website as well as read feedback from other players.
A Variety of Developers
The iGaming industry has also benefited from many developers, which helps to provide a plethora of options for potential players. There are many large, medium, and small-scale developers that help ensure that all interests are catered for. If a player doesn’t like one game, then there’s no problem, because there will be many others for them to choose from. This has helped to create a competitive environment which elevates the overall quality of the industry and thus makes it more attractive to gamers.
Source: pexels.com
Broader Tech Trends
Finally, the iGaming industry has benefitted from broader tech trends. The activities offered by iGaming were (largely) available in the pre-internet era, but the shift towards a life more deeply intertwined with technology has meant that many people are now looking to do those activities online. And with more and more people getting smartphones with each passing year, the audience for iGaming is continually growing. That, along with increasing investment in forward-thinking technology such as VR and the metaverse, suggests that we’re far from the peak popularity of iGaming. Indeed, we might just be getting started.
