The Key Innovations That Distinguish Top iGaming Platforms
Photo by Bram Van Oost on Unsplash
The iGaming sector has enjoyed sustained growth over the past decade, boosted by several timely factors.
First among these is the rise of the smartphone and other mobile devices which have greatly increased the accessibility of online gaming platforms.
This is due to the fact that online casinos and other iGaming products now benefit from the higher potential market ceiling the smartphone platform offers over desktop computers.
To add to this, the on-demand nature of smart devices – enabling people to play games or place bets wherever they are – has further contributed to a corresponding growth in interest of these services among real money aficionados.
In addition to a changing tech landscape, the legislative acceptance of iGaming products has also been trending in a positive direction with the USA – the world’s largest single economy – now looking favourably upon expansion of the iGaming market within its borders following the repeal of PASPA in 2017.
However, it should be understood that while these are certainly fortuitous outcomes for the industry, the sector has always sought to innovate and adopt novel growth strategies to stay ahead of the curve and promote organic growth.
After all, the very first online casinos, which went online mere months after the public launch of the World Wide Web on April 30th 1993, were bucking the longstanding trend that casino games were a brick-and-mortar phenomenon. Instead they were banking on the notion that table gaming fans would ultimately find acceptance and enjoyment in this new way to play.
This attitude has kept the industry nimble and dynamic for decades, and continues to shape the platforms at the forefront of the sector today. But what does innovation in the iGaming market look like in 2024? Below we’re going to cover some of the steps the leading names in the space are taking to remain ahead of the curve.
Bespoke and Targeted Promotional Approaches
The biggest challenge online is getting discovered due to the fact there’s so much competition in the global eCommerce market. Different brands adopt novel approaches to this, with many finding success on social media through the use of adverts that utilise the social graph to target specific demographics.
Due to the sensitive nature of the iGaming sector, this hasn’t been an option – but that’s not to say it hasn’t innovated its own unique ways to increase digital footfall.
One key example of this can be seen in the rise of dedicated welcome bonuses, sign-up deals and other specific offers such as free spins for slots which aim to connect gamers with specific requirements with bespoke promotions to suit their interests.
Naturally, such bonuses are nothing new – what’s changed though, is the way they’re delivered. Instead of one or two offers designed to appeal to a wide number of patrons, platforms such as VegasSlotsOnline have made a name for themselves by furnishing gamers with hundreds of affiliate deals to choose from, boosting discoverability to the gaming providers in question and enabling users to make targeted selections for offers that directly benefit them.
Photo by Thom Holmes on Unsplash
Embracing the Crypto Revolution
While cryptocurrencies are still in the early stages of enjoying mainstream public acceptance, their obvious utility – and suitability – for online casinos and iGaming services has not gone unnoticed by the industry.
In light of this, the rise of so-called Bitcoin casinos and the like has been precipitous, with this segment now among the fastest growing parts of the wider market. The reasons for this are easy to grasp – crypto is private, anonymous and supremely flexible, enabling gamers from around the world to easily engage with iGaming products.
While more and more casinos are beginning to offer crypto wallets and exchanges as a means of making deposits and withdrawals, it has yet to become the norm, but the prospects look good.
There’s even been talk and experiments for ways to integrate NFT tokens and micro-crypto coins directly into casino platforms – effectively substituting the casino chips utilised in brick-and-mortar contexts for a high tech digital alternative.
VR Optimisation
Talk of the metaverse may have died down recently, but with Apple’s own Vision Pro mixed-reality headset due for release internationally, there’s never been more of an appetite for fully immersive 3D casino gaming, and a growing number of platforms today are more than happy to oblige.
While the dream of a metaverse-equivalent the Las Vegas Strip or Macau has yet to manifest, most industry analysts believe it’s merely a matter of time.
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