The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2022, brought about unprecedented changes. People’s lives were turned upside down socially, economically and psychologically. Much of the world went online, both for work and for entertainment.
The gaming industry was one of the few industries to experience a positive side to the pandemic. Due to lockdowns and social distancing measures, people were forced to spend more time at home. In search of entertainment, many watched more streaming movies and TV shows while others turned to the online casino to offer safe recreational activities with online casino sign up bonus offers.
Even after the pandemic subsided, online casinos continued to grow and thrive. What’s happening in the post-COVID world of online casino gambling and how do the changes that took place continue to shape the industry today?
Online Activity
During the pandemic, the number of visits to online resources increased by as much as 70% overall. Concurrently, the commercial income of companies that were providing those resources increased x5. Industries that saw the highest level of increase in visitation included online dating, online cinemas, insurance, interest in cryptocurrency exchanges and trading platforms, online learning platforms and courses and traffic to online casinos.
Online casinos were among the first platforms to begin to attract new visitors. Many land-based casino enthusiasts switched to online platforms and new gamers started to pop up in poker room where they could join online tournaments for some social interaction. From there, it was a quick skip and jump to the exploration of other casino games.
By the summer of 2020 gambling platforms were attracting millions of new visitors. Governments noted this and new countries, like Belarus, started to officially legalize online gambling while other countries expanded their efforts to more formally regulate the online casinos that were already operating in their jurisdictions.
It’s estimated that traffic of online gambling resources increased by up to 15% during that era.
Online Platforms
It’s not hard to understand why individuals turned to online casino platforms during the pandemic but it’s interesting to note that, even without predicting the onset of the pandemic, the online gambling industry was ready and able to step up to the plate immediately. But, casino observers say, it was the readiness of governments to regulate and establish new rules that created favorable conditions for the growth of gambling resources.
Governments of Italy, Spain, India, Philippines, Belarus, the UK, Sweden, Georgia and the United States used the opportunity to create positive dynamics for online gaming growth. Not all countries stepped up to the plate – in Latvia, the government used the pandemic to block Internet platforms which led to a loss of jobs in the industry.
But for the most part, countries recognized the importance of this type of recreation which offered people the opportunity to enjoy pandemic-safe entertainment.
Additional Enhancements
There are other factors that may not have been directly related to the COVID pandemic but which shifted concurrently with the pandemic to encourage more online casino traffic. One of those shifts involved the area of online safety. During the pandemic, it became safer to play online as casinos started to follow new protocols and enhance old safety protocols.
At the urging of a number of governments, many online casinos started to implement strict age verification procedures and identity verification procedures to ensure that players were who they said that they were. Most online casinos now request that players submit photocopies of their national I.Ds and some kind of address verification (photocopy of a utility or other bill) to confirm that they are who they say that they are.
There are more safeguards on digital safety as well at online casinos. Transfers of funds can now be facilitated via multiple ebanks with the transactions encoded through highly-sophisticated 128-BIT encryption technology to ensure safe transfers of money. Many online casinos also now offer crypto transfers which gives crypto users the opportunity to make transfers to and from cybercurrency wallets.
Many casino players are keeping updated about the upcoming changes expected in online gaming in the near future. They include opportunities for live casino gaming with a live dealer via live-streaming software and games that include both Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. Additionally, there’s a feeling of partnership between players and the casinos with the implementation of expanded programs for Responsible Gaming.
Post-COVID, there’s a lot to look forward to at the online casino.
