Online Gaming Industry Trends
The online gaming industry has went from strength to strength over the last few years, and despite rumours of saturation in the market, it looks as though online gaming and gambling is here to stay. In fact, there are a few trends in the industry which look set to boost the industry over the next few years:
Global gaming
Although not quite there yet, global gaming is something that looks set to become a reality over the next few years. Many of the bigger gaming sites already operate within a few EU countries anyway, making them international but not quite global. However with laws slowly changing in the US, particularly in regards to online poker, not to mention new regulations proposed throughout various European countries, it might not be long before we can play online in a global market.
Mobile
It’s no secret that mobile gaming has seen a significant growth in popularity and therefore revenue over the last couple of years. This is thanks to the fact most people now own a smartphone or are opting for tablet computer devices instead of PCs and laptops, meaning the way we access information, and of course games, has completely changed. It’s predicted that by the end of 2015, mobile gaming revenue will surpass console gaming revenue. This takes into account both free to play games, apps and real money games. One trend that’s certainly set to continue for the foreseeable future is for brands to create bigger and better mobile gaming opportunities for players.
For example take bingo sites like Sun Bingo – they started off building a great online site and solid player base, but have had to grow and adapt with the mobile trend. As such, Sun Bingo and its sister title had to up their game with their basic mobile offering, and now Sun Bingo offers iOS apps both for bingo and solely slot games.
Social gaming
In the same vein as mobile gaming, there has been more of a trend towards social games of late. Whilst some sites and brands may have struggled with gaming apps, with a few bingo names in particular closing down, others have thrived, adding more games and features for players to take advantage of. The fact is that social games are quite often linked to mobile use as the apps are ready made and available for smartphones, not to mention that social apps have a close link with social media such as Facebook, meaning that the potential player base is ever growing. As social games are played for fun, there’s less restrictions on the legalities of who can play, license and tax issues, so social games have many advantages both for a gaming operator and player. If you’re not in it for the money, it seems social games are the way to go for a gaming fix at no cost, plus you can compete against your fellow Facebook friends for bragging rights, a trend which we’ve all seen appear on our newsfeeds.
These are just some of the major trends which look set to continue in the online gaming industry, though it will no doubt only be a matter of time before more trends start forming.
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