Online gambling was born in 1994. Then, the world’s leading casino software developer, Microgaming, launched the first internet casino. Since then, the industry has been developing by leaps and bounds not only in Australia but around the world. Today, the segment is so large that millions of gamblers can play in Aussie casinos regularly.
As elsewhere, online gambling in Australia undergoes constant improvement. Many online platforms, such as GW Casino, are ready to provide high service to their customers. The Aussie market is huge, so we decided to analyze this market and highlight the main trends observed there.
Trend 1: Coronavirus impact
The COVID-19 pandemic affected all countries and all industries. In many spheres, the restrictions adopted by authorities led to collapse or stagnation. However, online gambling thrived. It received an influx of new players, and thus, reaped a handsome profit. Specifically, Australia saw a 67% increase in internet gambling during the March-April period. It is reasonable since all offline casinos were closed and people were forced to stay at home. Nevertheless, there’s a catch.
Although the number of players went up, it should be understood that the pandemic has resulted in a large economic collapse. Economic consequences caused by the all-out lockdown earlier this year forced many companies to make significant cuts in costs. The same applies to everything related to online money transactions. Many players noted that some transactions went through with an error or did not go through at all. As of today, banks have already fixed this issue. However, nobody knows when the 2nd lockdown will be announced, so the situation is still a little challenging.
On the other hand, sports betting, which is also part of the online gambling segment, suffered terrible losses due to the termination of major sports competitions. Here, we can single out the eSports segment, which completely switched to a remote format and was able to stay afloat. Offline sports events had been banned until the end of the summer, and only in September, the sector began to recover.
However, there is the second wave of COVID-19 and no one can say with confidence that sports competitions won’t be paused again. One solution that is already being applied, for example in the UK, is the partial admission of spectators to stadiums. The number of spectators is determined depending on the epidemiological situation in the region or city.
Trend 2: High tech use
High technologies such as VR, AR, and AI have already been introduced and tested in some industries. Moreover, it isn’t always entertainment only. Thus, the Augmented Reality technology is widely used in medicine and surgery. And its potential in other spheres, for example, in the military, is difficult to imagine.
When it comes to online gambling in Australia, the adoption of Virtual Reality is in full swing. This is the result of a global trend. VR implementation can bring several clear benefits. For example, games will become more immersive. The atmosphere of playing in an offline casino can be maintained in online VR gambling.
In addition to making the games more realistic, VR technology can also go the extra mile. With its help, players will be able to locate themselves in another country or even on another planet. And the virtual dealer will be there too. The goal of these measures is, of course, to improve user experience with the game and to keep up with the industry competitors.
While it sounds exciting, some players are intimidated by the new features. People believe that deep immersion in the game can cause new problems and drive the growth of gambling addiction. Online casinos are strikingly different from their land-based counterparts because they do not provide a high level of immersion in the process.
Therefore, many players do not take online gambling seriously and are not afraid of addiction. The immersion that VR is expected to bring may fuel this problem again. However, these are only unconfirmed assumptions and it will be possible to talk about such a danger only after large-scale and serious tests with real people.
Trend 3: Cryptocurrencies
Despite the fact that cryptocurrencies, and Bitcoin, in particular, have existed for more than 10 years, they gained truly worldwide fame only a couple of years ago. Although today, the hype around Bitcoin has already subsided, cryptocurrency casinos are growing popular globally, and in Australia, in particular. This is because the use of cryptocurrencies in online gambling allows players to remain anonymous.
In addition, crypto coins provide players with an opportunity to conduct transactions without standard bank fees. As for the casinos themselves, Bitcoin is of benefit to them as well. All payment-related transactions can now go through faster and without banking operational delays. After all, gambling with cryptocurrencies is a safer way to manage money. However, this thesis is relevant only to trusted gambling sites and trusted crypto wallets.
One way or another, today Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are still just an alternative payment method, which in itself is a plus. Many casinos are implementing this option, and you can easily find a list of the best platforms on the web. So far, nothing indicates that this trend will decline in Australia. Theoretically, the state can prohibit cryptocurrencies. But, if the global experience is anything to go by, such decisions only lead to an increase in the popularity of cryptocurrencies and the transition to shadowy operations and schemes.
Final words
As you can see, the trends listed above can be observed not only in Australia but also in many other countries around the globe. However, unlike other states, the Australian authorities are known for their friendly attitude to this market.
Therefore, it can be assumed that they will not stand up against the introduction of high technologies or ban cryptocurrency operations. At the same time, there is a belief that the authorities will help the online gambling segment cope with the consequences of the pandemic. Let’s wait and see.
