Page cover

🃏PokerVegas

Growth of the online poker industry

In 2020, many industries related to online delivery and digital entertainment experienced rapid growth, including online poker. The traffic of people playing online poker in southern Europe doubled in a matter of weeks. As live events around the world ceased, players sought alternatives online - some looking for alternatives to the casino, others trying poker for the first time for fun. In the months that followed, figures put the overall growth of the industry at about 30 percent.

This mini boom in online poker had a cascading effect on the industry. Regular tournament fields became larger, which also resulted in higher prize pools for the winners. Additional online series filled the poker calendar, and the world's biggest live events - such as the WSOP and EPT - took place online for the first time in history.

Naturally, this boom will diminish to some extent as the world returns to its live activities. Interestingly, however, the recent growth of the industry has involved a large number of beginning players, which has seen an increase of up to 255% (according to research firm Global Poker). Player retention will be key for operators in the industry to maintain a solid level of growth.

Projections from The Business Research Center show optimistic forecasts. The online poker industry was worth about $58.96 billion in 2019, and is expected to reach about $92.8 billion by 2023, representing a 12% growth rate.

Poker Mobile

With over a third of the world's population using smartphones and the internet reaching more and more people, it is only natural that playing poker on mobile devices will become even more popular. In fact, this is likely to be the trigger for more operators to enter the market and invest in better mobile offerings to monetize their game rooms. Between new tournament formats and player interaction, it is expected that by 2021 the platforms will create the conditions for an even more real and personalized experience. A sign of this change is the fact that there are already numerous poker brands with their own applications dedicated only to mobile. In other words, for users there is nothing like taking a break, picking up their smartphone, and playing a game to relax.

Payment

It is a fact that payments are a crucial part of a successful gaming experience, as this affects a player's decision to stay at the casino or not. For example, if users see familiar and convenient payment methods, they are likely to prefer those platforms over others with unfamiliar payment options. In other words, customer loyalty depends directly on payments. Digital casinos understand this and do their best to implement the most sought-after payment methods. By the way, when it comes to deposits and withdrawals on digital platforms, this is designed to be as simple and intuitive as possible, in the sense of making the process seamless.

Virtual Reality

Over the years, this is a technology that is increasingly being addressed in order to provide gamers with a better gaming experience. In fact, by 2020, it was already a talked about technology in this area.Although it has not yet proliferated, many online casinos are expected to adopt virtual reality (VR) in the near future. By 2021, an estimated $250 billion will be generated from VR experiences.The big chunk will come from poker, with PokerStars being one of the pioneers in this segment by launching an immersive experience in conjunction with the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Steam. On this platform, each player has their own avatar and all graphics are true to the physical environment of a poker table.

Decentralized

Agility

Last updated