The Growth of Mobile Casino Gaming

Whichever statistic you choose to look at, there is no doubt that mobile casino gaming is a big game changer and huge business right now.

Growth in this sector has simply exploded in the last five years, to the point where it is now a key contributor to the $182 billion remote gaming industry with Paddy Power mobile, bet365 and Betfair being some of the key players. This market is likely to grow even further in the years ahead, with improved smartphone graphics and the development of increasingly immersive games that will appeal to players looking to have a punt online. The growth is being fuelled by the increased power of mobile devices and, of course, the fact that they are accessible just about everywhere for many people due to the growth in availability of fast connections.

This is a sobering thought, especially when you start thinking global. Countries such as Sweden and Korea already have a high penetration of these kinds of phones and tablets on the markets. Other countries are still catching up and have plenty of room for growth.

One of the reasons behind the success of Facebook, is their success with mobiles and tablets. And roulette players have options here as well, with a big choice of Facebook roulette apps available- although you can’t play real money (for now).

The Facts behind the Headlines: Mobile Casino Growth in the Modern Age

In terms of the facts, the cumulative spend on mobile casino games through Apple’s iOS rose by 55% in the twelve months from November 2013. This takes the value of this market sector up to $2.7 billion, and this consists almost entirely of social casino games on the free play money model where players buy access to deeper game levels.

Overall, the mobile gaming market had a total value of approximately $21 billion at the end of 2014, as this growing sector continued to close the gap on video game consoles and platforms. A big part of this is slots and mobile roulette games.

If growth in recent times has been big, it is set to get even bigger in the next two years. This is thanks to the increasing regulation of real money gambling in certain markets, particularly in the UK and Some States in the US (New Jersey, Nevada), which has attracted the big names in the land based casino industry (such as Caesar’s Casino) to the party (with the exception of the Sands Group- Sheldon Adelson remains set against online gambling, probably in a bid to shore up his land based businesses).

As a result of this, the digital gambling industry is expected to exceed a value of $100 billion by the end of 2017.

A Growing Market

In terms of the long-term, the scope for future growth will depend on what happens in the U.S. market. If online and mobile gambling become legal in more States, this will fuel big overall growth in the industry as a whole. Currently only three states (New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware) have taken the plunge into online gaming. If States like New York and California join them, US revenues could hit a tipping point and take off.