The online casino industry is a billion-dollar industry and by 2024, it is expected to reach $94.4 billion. In America alone, there are over 150 million people who play video games regularly and it is almost certain that a large number of video game players also play online slots too.

The current boom experienced in the online gambling industry can be attributed to how online casinos have made gambling a lot easier than it used to be several years ago, where land-based casinos were all there was.

Gamblers now prefer to play at an online casino due to the numerous incentives in form of bonuses, free spins and jackpot prizes that land-based casinos can’t match.

"It's something we have been looking at for a while, as we need to. We have got a large investment in bricks and mortar. The future of the world, not just our industry, but everywhere is going online,” said Chief executive of Sky City, Graeme Stephens on the expansion of casino gaming in a report.

"We are evaluating our options in that space, and if we can make something work, we would like to.

With modern technology currently on the rise, this has positively affected the growth of the online casino industry, making it more accessible, secure and innovative. Here are some of the latest technological advancements that are changing the online gambling industry.

Virtual Reality Casino Gaming

The concept of an advanced Virtual Reality (VR) has been portrayed in the entertainment industry—with numerous TV shows and movies featuring them over the years.  However, the world has now reached the point where VR can now be experienced in real life, and within a few years, it will become a key aspect of the gaming industry.

Today, we have VR being implemented in different games from FPS shooter games to horror games, puzzle games and many more are fitting in well. Online casinos are not left out, as they are already providing users with a great number of games such as blackjack, poker and slot games—giving players the complete real-life casino experience.

With technology developments like VR goggles already becoming quite commonplace, modern online casinos can now provide players with a unique gaming experience where they’ll be able to walk around the casino floors, check out the available games, place wagers, and interact with other players, as if in a traditional casino.

Augmented Reality Casino Gaming

Just like Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality (AR) is similar many ways, only it takes things a step further. Instead of just inducing the illusion of reality, it equally influences all the sensory inputs of an individual, creating an experience that would most likely exceed the one a player typically has in a regular brick & mortar casino.

However, unlike VR, Augmented Reality is still few more years away from becoming mainstream as there are still some real challenges that need to be tackled. Nonetheless, the adoption of this new technology would give the casino industry a big boost and attract new players to this exciting mode of play.

Mobile Casino Gaming

Today, a large number of the world’s population owns and uses a smartphone daily—with the forecasted number of smartphone users expected to grow to 2.97 billion by 2020—indicating that there is a huge market for mobile gaming.

Every year, smartphone technology keeps improving and mobile games are equally getting a lot more advanced and exciting. Online casinos have identified this opportunity and a large number of them have already gone mobile, with few in their transition stage.

Mobile compatibility for online casinos is a huge advantage as it attracts players who can now have the casino experience even when they are on the move. In fact, some sites have even developed their own mobile app, alongside a mobile website—giving players multiple options to choose from. This is usually one of the features to look out for when selecting the best online casino.

Highly Secure Casino Gaming

In recent years, hacks and data breaches are becoming a bigger threat and being that casino sites hold user information, it is important that they are highly secured.

In fact, nearly all of the available online slots in Canada are legally operated and licensed by some of the toughest national gaming authorities in the world. This gives users an assurance that using these sites with state-of-the-art banking and security features, all of their private details are safe.

Also, the implementation of AI has greatly minimized the disadvantages associated with an inability to physically monitor player behaviour—allowing casinos to stay one step ahead of would-be fraudsters, disrupting their employment of probability programs and their own AI bots to make play much fairer for everyone.   

AI has the potential to transform the casino industry, making it safer and more entertaining for every player. It opens up a world of immense possibilities that allows for a more efficient and individual experience while increasing customer retention rates.

“One of the most common challenges operators face is a conversion of newly registered customers to first deposit. So many businesses spend significant resources on acquiring new customers yet fail with longer-term retention, resulting in millions in revenue simply going to waste,” explained Hampus Lindberg, Commercial Director at Wiraya.

Blockchain Casinos

The sudden growth of cryptocurrencies such as the Bitcoinand the development of the blockchain technology, has left a massive impact on various aspects of online businesses.

Online casinos are not left out, as cryptocurrencies and their underlying technologies have opened the doors to new possibilities—which has been capitalized on by the online gambling industry.

The financial advantages of blockchain technology isn’t the only aspect being used by online casinos. Due to the structure of the technology, it can equally provide provably fair casino games, with players granted easy access to everything that happens behind the scenes.

With the blockchain technology, players can discover valid information about outcomes of any deal or spin of the reels and get a legitimate proof that everything that happensis truly random and fair.

Typically, fairness is often one of the biggest concerns for online casino players, and with the blockchain technology, more and more casinos are looking to incorporate it, with the hopes of attracting players to their platform by guaranteeing fairness.