The start of the year has already seen plenty of news about new mergers and buyouts, or rather the possibility of failed takeovers–namely Aristocrat’s bid for Playtech PLC, which is looking less likely to happen by the day. Large casino companies buying competitors is always a trending topic on the iGaming business wires, and something we will be covering in this report. On top of this, there are several new technologies to look out for and the continued emergence/influence of cryptocurrency in the casino industry.
Let’s take a look at these trending topics below for casinos.
Higher Jackpot Wins In The US As Software Providers Enter The US iGaming
As the US iGaming market continues to legalise online casinos, we will see more software providers (casino game developers) break into the domestic scene.
Evolution, Ezugi, and Playtech already have live casino studios in the country. Plus, well- known video slot developers in Europe and other continents such as NetEnt, Yggdrasil and Red Tiger are already releasing slot titles in states where online gambling is now legal. All these brands are known for offering progressive jackpot networks. With the release of more jackpot titles, and the continued rise in revenues due to the increasing popularity of real money online slots in US iGaming markets, we will see more jackpot titles linked to a single jackpot.
As a result of these influences on the market, jackpot wins will begin to trend. We will see more jackpots dropping on players dropping lump sum cash wins. And some of these jackpots will create new millionaires and as such, we will see a new trend of millionaire slot players at US online casinos. To stay up to date with the best slot sites in the USA, slots.info is one of the trending brand names in the US video slot vertical.
iGaming Companies Will Aim To Expand In Regulated Online Casino Markets
We just mentioned the Aristocrat takeover of Playtech in our opening intro. One of the reasons Aristocrat may pull out of the Playtech takeover or merger deal is because Playtech operates in unregulated online casino markets – in particular Asia, and to be more specific Southeast Asia where most countries outlaw online gambling.
Another example of how operating in unregulated markets can have a negative effect on iGaming companies comes from recent news involving Evolution. An anonymous source complained to the US government that the firm is not one that acts ethically as its games are available in countries where gambling is illegal; something the US government frowns upon. Now Playtech is also operating in the US so a similar complaint could arise.
Why are we waffling with these examples? To cut to the chase, the iGaming market is shifting, and ethics plays a major role in brand trust. Companies like 888, Caesars, and DraftKings are earning themselves quite the trustworthy reputation. As a result, more casino companies will be looking to avoid unregulated markets and build their brand in regulated markets.
More Trending News About Casino Companies
Investing in the Metaverse We already know that Atari is heavily invested in creating virtual reality casinos, and we are sure to see more big brand names linked with VR iGaming via the metaverse.
Facebook is also working on a Metaverse that will become a VR world with avatars, meeting rooms, seminars, music concerts, and more. And if the first beta version kicks off, then Facebook will surely make deals with online casino firms looking to get their virtual casino kicked off in this new cyber world. The ‘Metaverse’ topic is already trending across social media channels like YouTube, as is the topic of virtual online casinos. As we move into Q3 and Q4, we will be seeing much more iGaming and metaverse topics trending on the casino industry’s news and gossip grapevine.
Continued Adoption Of Cryptocurrency for Regulatory Authorities, Online Casinos And Land-Based Casinos
Cryptocurrency already plays a huge role in the casino industry. Most people that cannot gamble at online casinos due to financial restrictions in their country tend to play using crypto instead. 2021 also saw the most formidable rise in the adoption of cryptocurrency used for gambling. One website, SoftSwiss reported that 40% of currencies used across more than 200 online casinos using its aggregator platform were crypto, while 60% was fiat currency. That is impressive, but even more impressively, that was a 40% rise from last year. That is a trend we can’t ignore.
On top of this, regulatory authorities such as the UKGC and MGA are looking into how to regulate cryptocurrencies. As using crypto is becoming increasingly prevalent and in demand, we will have plenty of trending news regarding casino licensing organisations talking about how they can feasibly regulate crypto gambling. And to top it all off, as land-based casinos resume operations across the globe (post-pandemic), the development of blockchain ecosystems for high rollers to easily transfer funds to and from casinos is another topic we will be hearing plenty about.
