Online casino platforms have been growing at a rapid pace since they have been legalized back in 1994. The rapid growth of the internet and technology in general has significantly contributed to their evolution to the point that now, they can be found all over the web. The internet and mobile phones have pushed this growth further, making it possible to play the games from anywhere and at any time. The iGaming industry has been around for almost 30 years now, and has evolved a great deal since then. Each year, more and more countries are legalizing online casinos. One of the last ones to do so has been Switzerland, which has been giving licences to casinos within the country to operate online.
More Countries Are Legalizing Online Casinos
Switzerland has been known to be very strict regarding gambling in general, which was legalized in the country very recently in 1993. Before that, gambling was prohibited in the country from 1921 to 1993. Almost two decades later, in 2019, online gambling was legalized as well, bringing popular online casino games to people in Switzerland. One of the few casinos to receive a license to operate online was Casino Interlaken, a casino located in the town with the same name, in the canton of Bern. They launched the online casino Starvegas, making popular games like Book of Ra and other games available to people.
The main contributors to the popularity of online casinos have been mobile devices such as phones and tablets. Their portability is what made gaming on them more popular than either personal computers or consoles. Convenience also played an important role in the growth of gaming. Not just casinos but gaming in general has gained massive popularity in the last few years due to mobile devices. Also, new technologies such as 5G internet speeds are furthering the growth of mobile-based applications and services, including gaming.
New Technologies Create New Possibilities
Each year, new technologies are being developed, each one of them having the possibility to further develop the iGaming industry. Some new technologies that have been making headlines are cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Security in online casinos has increased significantly in the last few years. Being a trustworthy and secure platform is of paramount importance and an online casino is as good as dead without the proper securities put in place. Cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies will further increase the security of these platforms as well as providing more transparency to players with the help of blockchain technology.
Virtual reality as well as augmented reality have also played a significant role in the evolution of gaming. Although augmented reality is at a point where it can be seen in a prototype stage, virtual reality has reached a point where it can be comfortably adopted by people. The technology has improved since it was released and efforts are being made by companies to further improve it. The main goal for VR development today is making the headset smaller and more compact in order to be worn more comfortably. Not many casinos use this technology and more of them seem to prefer the classic way of playing, however VR and AR could be an interesting addition to the iGaming industry instead of the focus. Online casinos will continue to develop alongside technology and with each new generation of hardware and applications, online platforms will surely change, adopt, and incorporate these new technologies, further improving them.
