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The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 made casinos around the world close their doors for visitors. In Las Vegas, the world’s capital of gambling, all the venues were closed for more than two months, causing heavy losses for the industry.
However, during the lockdown, a new industry emerged. With no retail casino accepting patrons, gaming enthusiasts had switched their focus to online casinos. In 2020, the online gaming industry saw a speedy rise, which still hasn’t stopped even though the pandemic is almost completely over.
According to a study, this trend should continue in the next couple of years, with the entire online gaming market expected to come to just under $100 billion by 2025. To put it in perspective, that’s more than the GDP of countries like Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bulgaria, Croatia, and so on.
In order to understand why the future of this industry seems bright, here are some facts that show all the glory of online gambling.
#1 Online Casinos Have Never Been This Generous
The competition in the online gambling industry has never been so fierce. In order to attract customers, internet casinos need only to come up with ways to make themselves stand out. One of the most common solutions is to offer some attractive deals to new players.
It’s safe to say that almost all online casinos and sportsbooks have a welcome present for new customers, which usually come in the form of match deposit bonuses. Then there are also some no deposit bonus casinos, which practically give away free money.
Other types of bonuses you may come across in online casinos and sportsbooks include rebate deals, free spins/bets, birthday bonuses, and so on.
#2 The US Is Not a Very Gambling-Friendly Place
The legality of online gambling differs from one country to another. What’s a bit surprising is that the US is not as a gambling-friendly country as some would think. In fact, there are only a couple of states in which it’s possible to gamble on the internet (e.g., New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania).
In most other states, online gambling is either illegal or unregulated. There are two states that have the strictest laws regarding gambling – Utah and Hawaii. Not only is internet gaming illegal in those states but the same goes for land-based casinos as well.
#3 Online Slots Make up 70% of the Industry’s Income
It is estimated that online slots generate the most income in the online casino industry. According to research, these games account for about 70% of the total income. Other popular games include online roulette, blackjack, baccarat, and so on.
#4 Most Online Casinos & Sportsbooks are Licensed in Curacao
There’s a huge number of online gambling sites that are licensed in Curacao. The small island nation off the coast of Venezuela is an attractive destination of online casino/sportsbook owners for several reasons, starting with the fact that the licensing process isn’t difficult.
Secondly, taxes in Curacao aren’t as high as in many other places. For instance, online casinos in some US states need to give away as much as half of the revenue to the government.
#5 About 11% of All Internet Users Gamble Online on a Regular Basis
Online gambling is an activity that’s more popular than most people think. It is estimated that more than one in ten internet users gambles online on a regular basis. A typical online gambler is a male aged 30 or more.
#6 The First Internet Casino was Launched in 1994
The internet started taking off in the early 1990s. Just a few years after the first internet websites saw the light of day, Microgaming launched the world’s first proper online casino.
The site is now defunct, but the company is still in the business – nowadays, Microgaming is one of the leading online casino game developers in the world.
#7 The Highest Sum Ever Won in an Online Casino is $24 Million
It’s not easy to gather all the correct information from the world of online gambling. With the information available on the internet, it seems that the highest-ever jackpot won in an online casino was $24 million.
It happened to a Finnish user, who won the jackpot on a slot game called Mega Fortune. The story goes that the lucky winner wasn’t too much of a slots fan. Instead, his game of choice was online poker, but on that fateful day, he decided to give Mega Fortune a spin. That proved to be the right decision as he apparently hit the jackpot on a 25-cent spin.
