According to an examination conducted by The Slotegrator—which critically examined the events in the world of online gambling over the past year and made a list of popular trends—the online casino industry is bound to witness some evolving trends in 2018.

While the year 2017 witnessed a significant rise in the industry—including thematic games, the first steps in VR, the switch to the live format and Bitcoin analytics—the Slotegrator team have analyzed popular trends bound to occur in 2018.

VR-technologies

Virtual Reality (VR) is becoming increasingly popular in the online gambling sphere. Currently, quite a number of operators have already introduced this modern technology into their resources and have registered massive satisfaction with it.

Nowadays, devices with VR are quite popular and easy to use, plus with the impending price reductions and release of specialized software, the technology would introduce a new era to the world of gambling. The technology would become more attractive for online casinos as users would be able to walk through arcades, interact seamlessly with other players, and specifically choose a game table amongst other things. Also, experts note that the VR market will rake in profit of more than $110 billion by 2025.

Live-games

Last year witnessed a high demand for games with live dealers, and as its continually being sought after, it’s a sign of more to come for their successful development.

The growing popularity of live-games and VR technology is expected this year. Many developers plan to create games with improved functionality that are a lot more realistic, as well as launch new studios to broadcast games in real-time mode.

Skill games

Skill games don’t depend on luck and most modern players would rather not rely on only luck, but also on their own set of skills. This desire has inspired quite a number of providers to develop platforms that contain strategy games.

On these platforms, players have to apply certain skills in such games, and this can be a major attraction for players. This eventually means that skilled gamers will become a lot popular in the nearest future, leading to a growth in the trend.

Gamification

This concept of gamification denotes the application of game dynamics and game thinking to engage the audience in the process of solving the marketing tasks. Gamification is bound to become a new trend in gambling, as it will offer new missions, competitions, bonus programs and rewards, in a bid to attract more gamblers.

The trend is expected to peak in 2018—with more casinos inventing newer methods using bonuses and spins. Operators are already equally working on restructuring their loyalty program—and as a player, you can claim your bonus here on big offers.

Entertaining content

Retaining customers is a priority for online casino operators, and they employ every means possible to achieve that. Therefore, due to this, there will also be an increase in  "special sections" with useful non-gaming content including films, TV series, music videos and TV shows.

This year, more online casinos will include popular themes in their products and will promote games in a much different light—as film fans would get special slots, and those who long for the excitement of the competition can be entertained with fresh and interesting stories.

Big Data

Another popular trend of the current year is Big Data technology. The technology provides the collection and storage of a huge amount of information and will play a major role in the progression of the online gambling industry.

Big Data technology will ensure that game adaptation tailored to player’s interests and needs will be provided more effectively.

Mergers and acquisitions

According to forecasts by industry experts, the gambling market will witness more development and by 2020, its volume should exceed $60 billion.

Therefore, this implies that gambling companies will begin developing and increasing the capital by 2018.

Messengers

Newer methods of mobile internet would be capitalized on this year to attract more players. In the past, social networks and telephone communication tools were the leading means, but today, convenient messengers have gained a fair share of the industry.

The Slotegrator has also jumped in on the trend by creating its own "Telegram-casino". The integration of the gaming platform in the messenger gives users to the ability to enjoy gambling on their smartphones wherever and whenever.

Custom slots

More custom slot would be created as one of the top online casino services in 2018. This development will provide a competitive edge to the current operators in the market and creative custom slots are bound to increase brands visibility.

Cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrencies are becoming increasingly famous, with more and more new investors hoping to reap into its significant advantages which include anonymity, convenience, minimum fees and absence of prohibitions. Due to this development, cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, litecoin, dogecoin, ethereum, ripple, monero and zcash will become acceptable as one of the most on-demand mode of payment in the online gambling sphere.