Mobile and VR Casinos will bring Internet Wagers to near $1 Trillion in 2021

Many of today’s top companies rely on the publications of commercial research analysts to determine the right path for the future of their businesses. Online gambling is one of the largest internet-based industries in the world today, outpacing the projected revenue of years past.

Now, thanks to the existing popularity of mobile casinos and the recent emergence of virtual reality casinos, the global iGaming market is expected to almost double in the next five years.

A new research report from analytical firm Juniper Research predicts that “global online gambling wagers” will come close to “$1 trillion by 2021”. That’s a bold prediction, but one the research company has a great deal of faith in – and for good reason.

VR, Mobile Casino Market To Spur Growth

Juniper based it’s finding on the fact that mobile casino gambling has risen at a wild pace in the last two years. On top of that, with the emergence of virtual reality casinos earlier this year, that particular venue is expected to experience enormous growth over the next five years.

Millennials were raised on technology. They grew up playing PC and console video games, with multi-player online action that greatly supersedes anything the Atari, Nintendo and Sega consoles delivered to members of Generation X. They were essentially bred to appreciate the next big thing, and for the internet gaming industry, virtual reality is it.

Juniper’s latest findings are based on evidence that “gambling activities were increasingly migrating to the online environment, with the majority of net growth attributable to users of mobile channels.” Thus, as more and more gamers take to their smartphones and tablets, the mobile casino industry will see a great deal more wagers coming their way.

Furthermore, the research firm suggested that “new technologies such as VR would provide a further stimulus to the online casino sector, which is expected to account for just under half of wagers by value in 2021.”

Juniper estimated that the global online gambling market, which saw total wagers of “just over $550 billion this year”, will skyrocket “to nearly $950 billion by 2021.” Comparatively speaking, that would put the online and mobile casino market on a level plateau with the “ total spend on all digital goods and services”, which has been “forecast to exceed $1 trillion for the first time in 2021.”

User Engagement Important for Growth

The study’s author, Lauren Foye, explained why the researcher believes mobile and VR casino platforms will make up such a valuable percentage of the overall market – nearly half – five years from now, and how operators can tweak their products to keep more players coming back.

“User engagement goes a long way towards drawing in return business,” said Foye. “Providing features such as news and media on favourite teams, as well as personalised offerings based on past betting activity, enables greater engagement and is likely to reduce churn.”

Key Hindrances For iGaming Growth

While the outlook is incredibly positive for online gambling operators to take full advantage of VR and mobile casino technologies, Juniper Research suggested that a few hindrances will hold the market back from exceeding that projected growth.

Overall, there’s been a strong movement towards iGaming regulation around the world, but “a number of countries (such as the Philippines) have hardened their stance in recent months and have moved towards outright prohibition.”

It’s also worth noting that online gambling regulation has been much slower in the US than previously anticipated. Three years ago, it was thought that at least 10 US states would offer some form of online gambling by 2019, but here we are in 2017 already, and only three states have moved to regulate online casino and/or poker games.

The analysts also predicted that Bitcoin won’t make a huge impact on the industry. “Whilst a number of leading sportsbook providers, including William Hill and 888 now offer Bitcoin,” read the report, “Juniper believes that the cryptocurrency is unlikely to see mass-adoption, even in the gambling space.”

Lastly, while virtual reality casinos are the expected wave of the future, Juniper said, “The new format of VR will attract a niche clientele initially,” but that those same players “will wager significant amounts on real world ‘casino-style’ VR gambling products.”