Online casinos: The digitalization of gambling is advancing

For some time now, ongoing digitalization has not been restricted to the industrial or private sector alone. Other topics are also being “revolutionized” by digitization, including gambling. The former extremes between gambling houses and noble casinos are gradually disappearing. In the Internet age, online casinos are moving more and more into focus.

For a long time, the topic of gambling was frowned upon in Germany and had a certain “dirty image”. If one considers oneself the development of the gambling industry in the past years, it concerns however already long no longer a social edge phenomenon. Recent studies show that gambling is moving more and more into the center of society and that in the meantime it has also created a real labor market. According to the Handelsblatt Research Institute (HRI), almost 190,000 people in Germany are employed in the gaming industry. In addition, over 75 percent of Germans have already had direct contact with the topic of gambling and participated in a commercial game of chance. Online casinos, in particular, are very popular in Germany. Almost 35 percent of those surveyed in the HRI study “The Digitization of Gambling” stated that they had taken advantage of a corresponding offer.

Current trends at online casinos

The demand for digital games of chance is increasing more and more. In addition, the continuing liberalization of the gaming market is taking place in parallel in many European countries, which is inevitably reflected in an ever-increasing supply. Mobile gaming, in particular, has become a real boom factor for the industry. Gaming apps and casino games for mobile devices are becoming increasingly important for a generation that grew up with the Internet and smartphones. Also, the big app store providers like Google or Apple have already recognized these trends and open their digital app markets more and more for gambling apps. The ease of use of such apps also plays a decisive role. Thanks to e-wallet providers such as PayPal & Co., the virtual account can be loaded with just a few clicks. The number of PayPal-enabled online casinos is growing more and more, as you can see here.

In addition to mobile gaming, eSports is also playing an increasingly important role and is another growth factor for the industry. Numerous online casinos have long since included bets on the outcome of tournaments for popular gaming titles such as “League of Legends” or “Dota 2” in their program. A new business segment has only just opened up here, which may well reach the status of sports betting in a few years’ time.

While supply and demand are continuously increasing, there is still a lot of catching up to do on the part of politicians and, above all, regulation in Germany. Most operators currently operate with licenses from other EU countries and can therefore also operate on the German market. Nevertheless, Germany lacks a uniform legal regulation of the gaming market in line with EU law. Experts hope that the expiring licensing practice in Schleswig-Holstein could serve as a model for nationwide new regulation. Solutions in Denmark and Great Britain could also serve as a possible blueprint for Germany.