By In March 2011, one of the major online casinos announced so it had dealt its one billionth blackjack hand. And when you consider exactly how many web casinos exist, it gives you some concept of precisely how popular visiting casinos online is. When the first online casino went live in 1996, nobody might have predicted the twists, turns, and huge growth a would experience, particularly when you add smart mobile devices, which are finding their way into more hands every day.
Statistics by Nielsen Media Research in 2010 revealed that in the UK alone, online gambling traffic was up by 40% over 2009. In addition, it unearthed that 46% of online players were women and about 50% were middle aged men with above average salaries. And in the US, the National Annenberg Survey of the Young unearthed that some 16% of college-aged men visited online casinos at the very least once a month, up dramatically over 2008 figures.
Many online gambling venues credit the escalation in popularity to the development of industry standards by groups like eCOGRA (eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance), better responsiveness to customer service, and a commitment to providing players with safer, top quality sites. Newer payment methods are coming online, and more currency and language choices are also assisting vegus168 in the worldwide growth of gambling websites.
Among the biggest world regions for expansion of online gambling is Latin America. These 33 countries, with a population of around 570 million, are ripe for investment by web gambling firms. In fact, investors in areas like financial service providers and online server operators are keenly eying Latin America as a top for expansion.
A chief reason for the appeal of expanding online gaming into Latin America is the present telecommunications infrastructure, including widespread availability of broadband and mobile internet. In 2009, internet access reached nearly 200 million Latin Americans, and it had been growing at a cut of 30% per year.
Mobile online gambling appears to truly have the greatest potential for growth in Latin America, because device penetration in the region was at 80% in 2009, that was above the world average, with mobile networks reaching nearly 500 million people. Couple this with the rapidly evolving graphics and game features designed for mobile devices, and it is clear why any casino online looking to expand would prosper to take into account this region.
But mobile device gambling isn’t just a Latin American phenomenon. Mobile machines are rapidly growing in popularity everywhere, and the net casinos that develop applications for this are the people who will undoubtedly be first in line to take advantage of this market.
Online gambling has come quite a long way since 1996. More regulations come in place to help reassure consumers, and more payment and currency choices are available. The graphics and software platforms are a lot better than ever, casinos are taking a new look at customer service, and mobile handheld devices like Android phones and iPhones are setting up a new sector in online gambling. Simply speaking, it is just a very exciting time for the online gambling industry.