Online gambling has been on a continuous rise ever since its first steps almost twenty years ago. While originally it was introduced as little more than a small distraction, with many people actually believing that online casinos were fraudulent and that their games were all rigged to steal your cash immediately (a misconception which, admittedly, still continues to this day, albeit it’s not nearly as widespread as it was years ago), today online casino (and online gambling is general) is one of the biggest industries… Well, ever. One only needs to look at the charts to see a gradual progression in profits that shows absolutely no signs of slowing down. But how much more can online gambling grow, truly? Are there any limits to how big it can possibly get, in the UK or worldwide? Will it impact other industries positively or negatively? From a purely economic standpoint, what are we looking at when it comes to the future of online gambling?

First of all, I think it’s pretty obvious that yes, it’s absolutely, 100% going to continue to grow. Anyone can see that the progression is a fact, and nothing has really happened in recent years to make me think that the industry will stop growing or even slow down. Hell, not only that, but sites showing the best real money casino comparison typically tend to be very optimistic when it comes to how individual online casinos are developing and what opportunities they’re providing for their players. Many people believe that an increase in online casino profits must absolutely mean a decrease in physical casino profits, but honestly, I disagree. Look, when it comes to other forms of gambling, for example betting, its online form is objectively better than its physical one, no doubt about it. But there’s really no comparison that can be made between online and physical casino – online casinos weren’t made to push their physical ones out of business, they were made to complement them. If you couldn’t really go to a physical casino and have the full experience, you could go online and play a few games of live roulette. The two can co-exist, and subsequently can help each other grow further by increasing their player base. A person only needs to be interested in one form of casino in order for them to develop a natural interest in the other.

However, I do feel like we’re going to start seeing a very interesting symbiosis form between online casino and the entertainment industry. Right now, the relationship between casino games developers and, say, Hollywood, is a very one-sided one – Hollywood don’t make a lot of money out of the deals they make to have their products turned into slots, and generally only accept because whatever money they do end up making is free and doesn’t tarnish their IP. As such, certain Hollywood studios can afford to simply cut all contact with the gambling industry without losing anything at all (looking straight at you, Marvel). However, as the online gambling industry grows, I imagine that studios will be fighting harder for a piece of that pie. Best case scenario, we’re going to be seeing less slots like “Bridesmaids” and more slots based on licenses that the developers are actually enthusiastic about.

In any case, these are just some of my own predictions based on what I’ve seen. They could be totally wrong, but then again, I have a feeling they might not be. What do you think? Let me know by hitting that Contact button above!