I’m old enough to remember what the world used to be like before smartphones could do absolutely everything. Even in the late 2000s, smartphones were still finding their place in our society. Few people used them for banking, social media was still primarily accessed on PCs and laptops, and home video console games had only just launched their online platforms.
It was an exciting time for those in the gaming industry. While some online casinos predated the millennium, there wasn’t a real demand for them until the rise of faster internet access, and by the late 2000s, the first-ever smartphone.
Picking up the baton from online platforms
If online casinos on PCs and laptops had brought into focus the promise of a global world of casino gaming, it was the convenience, portability, and globally interconnected nature of mobile apps that tapped into some of the colossal further potential that existed in the mobile casino world.
Nobody knew just how significant this potential was until mobile casinos started to get off the ground in the early stages of the 2010s, but now that we’re nearly two decades into the smartphone revolution, what systemic changes have mobile casinos had, and how could they influence the future direction of the broader industry moving forward?
Capturing the hunger for mobile gaming
Although many gaming titles initially showcased the immense potential of mobile gaming, casinos were still left with a number of pressing issues that caused a headache for designers and site developers. The first obstacle to overcome was to reshape the casino gaming market and encourage people to check out mobile casinos.
When we say mobile casinos, we’re referring to the whole scope of gaming options that are out there. You can play slots on your smartphone, enjoy a game of poker on your iPad or play blackjack on your tablet. Some sites will have specific apps, and while they were more popular in the early days of mobile gaming, there has been a resurgence of sites that allow people to connect via a mobile browser on their phone, rather than having to download a mobile app.
The early promise shown by games like League of Legends led to a surge in gaming developers seeking to establish themselves in this burgeoning sector. In the modern market, esports have showcased just how big the market is, with six-figure prizes for the world’s top players and teams.
Online casinos soon realised that the future of gaming was portable and mobile, and as long as they could guarantee the same fundamental experience as online casinos, which had resulted in their initial success, then the sky was the limit.
Designers homing in on mobile gaming development
Mobile apps and browsers have become the cornerstone of countless innovations and gaming advances over the last decade. The DIY approach to mobile gaming, which allows designers to create and release their own games on the App Store, was a significant development that broke down several conventional barriers that had previously held many talented game developers back.
As online casinos began to benefit from a perfect recipe that consisted of clearer global legislation, the mass adoption of smartphones and significantly faster internet connectivity and watertight encryption, game developers were quick to leverage their ingenuity in this unexplored area of casino games.
Now that billions of people worldwide use their mobile devices for the vast majority of their daily routines, ranging from WhatsApp and Telegram for messaging friends and family to online banking apps, travel apps, maps and calculators, it might have seemed like an obvious move.
However, back in the 2010s, many casino gamers were still reluctant to use mobile browsers and smartphones for their casino gaming, opting instead for platforms they were more familiar with, such as PCs. The growth in this market has resulted in enormous profits for the casino gaming industry. When an industry generates such immense profits, it can afford to pay top designers big bucks to create brands and concepts that attract and capture an audience.
Final thoughts
There was a time when mobile casinos were not considered a big enough part of the casino gaming world to be taken seriously. We’ve recently seen this attitude towards alternative payment casinos that utilise cryptocurrency, as well as the concept of VR casino gaming.
While it would be a surprise to see any of these smaller sectors grow to the same stature as mobile casinos, the impact stretches far and beyond the method in which people play. The rise of mobile casinos encouraged casino sites and game developers to think further outside the box, incorporate broader societal influences and expand into the international market rather than continue churning out similar ideas and genres that had been vaguely successful in the past.
By capturing this energy and market, mobile casinos have transformed the way casino companies operate and advertise, and how many of us access these games. As we move into a world where even greater digital enhancements are on the horizon, mobile game developers and casinos are among the many driving forces in the global world, and the fact that it’s only taken a decade and a half for them to attain this status shows just how profound their impact has been.
