The internet has been around for less than thirty years. By comparison, casinos have been around for hundreds of years.
Yet, most people nowadays play at a casino online. So, exactly how are online betting sites overtaking and pushing the classic, established gambling locales down to second place? And should we be worried about it?
Land-based vs online – the numbers
The first thing to discuss is the numbers. They provide some context for this topic. They’ll also make the existing disparity between land-based casinos and online ones more visible and show how each stacks up against the other.
Globally, the online gambling sector was worth 58.9 billion USD in 2019. In 2020, despite the economic downturn and other factors, it rose to 66.7 billion USD.
In 2024, according to projections, it will be worth approximately 75.2 billion USD. And by 2025, it is expected to nearly double its 2019 value and cross 100 billion USD.
Clearly, this is a sector that still has incredible potential for growth.
By contrast, the physical gambling sector was worth 202.9 billion USD in 2019 and a decade-low of 160.1 billion in 2020. Projections for 2024 assume approximately 190.8 billion or so.
It’s clear that both investors and players alike see more potential in the online stage. The growth of physical casinos, external factors notwithstanding, have stagnated while the online sector is growing at a steady pace.
Online casinos have more convenience and accessibility
In the US, a country famous for global gambling hubs like Las Vegas and Atlantic City, only about 33% of the population lives within a few minutes’ driving distance of a casino. And the majority of those do not actually live near casinos, but rather smaller establishments like poker dens with a few slot machines.
When the rest of the world is factored in, a very small population has access to physical gambling establishments. The rest have to travel a long distance to go to a casino. Some of them might have to travel hundreds of kilometers or across international borders.
Traveling like this regularly is expensive. By contrast, access to an online casino comes along with one’s internet bills. No time is wasted on the road and money is preserved to be used for gaming later on.
People with mobility issues or limited traveling opportunities also prefer online casinos. Ultimately, it is safer, easier, and more economical to play from home.
The variety of games at online casinos is larger
In a physical casino, a lot of activities are limited by space. The casino operator can only fit as many games as they have space. They also have to make trade-offs. If poker is more popular than baccarat, then the casino might decide to have only one baccarat table and four poker tables.
A player who wants to play baccarat might find the one table full, but there are too few people to open up a second table. The same can happen with a slot game, with all the machines for a particular title getting occupied.
The reverse is also a possibility. Unused tables and machines sit there, taking up space without being played.
This is not a problem at an online casino. Everything is digital and accessed through a computer. None of the games take up any physical space. They exist as bits of data on a server somewhere.
When a player wants to play a game, the data for that game are simply sent over the internet. This saves both space and costs.
The top online sites can easily host 3000+ unique titles. The majority of them would be slots, but there could be hundreds of table and live dealer games as well. There are less than five physical casinos in the world that can host that many games. The majority top out at 200 slot machines and about a score or so card and table games.
Lucrative bonuses are attractive to players
Online casinos have one more major advantage up their sleeves. They offer large bonus offers that physical ones cannot match.
Every single online casino has a welcome bonus. This bonus can vary a lot, but it is universally a freebie given out to new players. Using this bonus, new players could play with twice as much money or even get a big win thanks to the bonus money.
An example of a bonus is a 100% deposit match up to $1 000. If the player deposits, $1 000, the casino will match their deposit and give them another grand to use.
Some miscellaneous advantages
There are a few miscellaneous advantages for playing online compared to physical.
For instance, customer support at many online casinos is available 24/7 rather than during working hours at a physical site.
Players can use the casino from their mobile device and play their favorite games on the go without having to worry about a PC.
One person can be a member of multiple online casinos, not just one. They can extend their range a lot wider.
Are there any downsides of online casinos?
Yes. The main one is a matter of immersion. Since the online casino is limited to a small screen in front of you, you are limited in how engrossed you can get. Live dealer games fix this somewhat, but it is still a major issue.
Problem gambling is another one. When you go to a casino, you can take only a certain amount of money alongside you. Once the money is exhausted, you have to head home.
But that doesn’t happen with online betting sites. When playing online, you can simply connect your bank account and keep spending as long as you have any money left.
Therefore, self-restraint is more important when playing online. But a lot of online casinos help you practice responsible gambling, so that’s certainly a plus!
Final words
Brick-and-mortar casinos have been an entertainment powerhouse for over half a century. Now they are slowly losing their place to online betting sites.
Today, places like Las Vegas or Macau alone may bring in as much revenue as the entire global online casino industry. But that is expected to change within a few short years. The advantages of accessibility, convenience, a bigger library, and bonuses are too much to ignore.
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