Casinos Delight Their Visitors With the Online Version of the Casino Even in a Pandemic

by Staff & Contributors on February 23, 2021

in Gaming

The coronavirus pandemic has turned the world upside down and it affected almost all industries negatively. As people are forced to stay at home there aren’t too many things to do apart from watching TV or playing some games on the internet. In fact, movie streaming websites like Netflix and gaming and gambling sites have all seen an increase in their subscribers, customers and revenue. 

The casino business had to alter its business model somewhat to attract new customers and, in this article, we are going to discuss the changes they have had. Szilvia Sultes, a Hungarian iGaming expert gave us her insights into this topic. To find out more about Szilvia click here

 

Online Gambling Platforms

Online gambling started in the 1990s and the number of online casinos and their popularity has been growing ever since. However, there is a certain charm in visiting a brick-and-mortar casino and some people prefer those to their online counterparts. With the lockdown measures though, these establishments were forced to close their doors and the casino patrons had no other choice but playing at online casinos. 

In Hungary, there are ten land-based casinos which are located in Budapest and a few bigger cities around the country. Some of these casinos have launched their online sites where players are welcome to gamble. Apart from these, there are dozens of foreign-registered online casinos that accept players from Hungary such as Unibet kaszinó

 

Changes in Products of the Online Gambling Industry

When the pandemic started in early 2020 online casinos realized that with certain product changes or through coming up with new ideas, they can attract new customers and keep already existing ones. Some of the key changes were:

  • Esports betting: with traditional sporting events being cancelled (Formula One Grand Prix, UEFA Euro Cup, the Olympics) avid bettors were left without betting options. Casinos quickly offered virtual sports instead as well as the possibility to bet on Esports tournaments such as the Dota 2 or CS: GO. 
  • Mobile optimized gambling sites: with the widespread availability of smartphones and high internet speeds more and more people use their mobile phones to play games and gamble. Revenue from mobile gambling has already surpassed revenue from PC gambling. Online casinos are quickly mobile optimizing their games in order to maximize profits. 
  • Sign up promotions: with so many new people looking for gaming options because of the pandemic, casinos started to have fierce competition for new customers. They started to offer welcome bonuses, free spins and other bonuses for new customers. 
  • Immersive gambling experience: during the lockdown, many people suffer from boredom and loneliness and gaming companies went out of their way to create more immersive games. Virtual reality and live dealer casino games are the best examples that take players as close to a real casino experience as possible. 
  • Poker: first-time poker players signed up in online casino websites in record numbers. Learning a new game during these boring times is a great way of keeping the brain busy and playing poker is a social experience even if it is only done remotely. 

 

Global Online Gaming

The gaming industry has seen a similarly huge rise in revenue as the gambling industry. Video gaming has become extremely popular during the pandemic. Mobile gaming now generates more revenue than PC and console gaming altogether. A smartphone is just an arm’s reach away and there are all sorts of games from simple puzzle games to complex shooting ones that will suit any demographics. 

Gaming companies are generating more and more profit from freemium games – games that are free to download but then entice the player to make microtransactions. 

Esports has filled the void that sports tournaments left empty. Professional gamers can make huge amounts of money in esports tournaments and millions of people watch them on streaming sites like Twitch. 

 

Conclusion

Online casinos have seen a huge rise in the number of their new customers and revenue. They have adapted to the new circumstances the pandemic brought and provided new forms of entertainment to their customers. Immersive gaming, new betting options and concentrating on mobile platforms are among these changes.

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