For centuries, mankind has enjoyed gambling and games of chance so it didn’t take all that long for establishments to start catering for this need. Things remained fairly stable until the Internet burst into our lives and changed everything. Soon, players could gamble at home using online casinos and some people wondered how this would affect land-based casinos. The year is now 2016 and the casino industry is as healthy as ever, but does its future lie in bricks and mortar or in the digital realm of the Internet?
The modern Gambling landscape
Currently, there are thousands of online casinos all around the world and it is estimated that they generate US$7 000 000 000 a year, or $19 000 000 per day. The industry is showing no signs of slowing either so that number will likely continue to grow unless something drastic happens.
In 2016, Ladbrokes announced that the revenue from its digital casino activities had grown by 13% and that playing casino games had become the largest net revenue base online, overtaking sportsbooks.
Which is better, bricks or digital?
There’s no real answer to that I’m afraid, it’s up to each and every person out there to decide for themselves. Both land-based and online casinos have their advantages over the other, but I feel that online casinos are in the better position.
Land-based casinos provide an atmosphere that online casinos just can’t match. There’s nothing like playing with other people around and enjoying everything that comes with that. However, apart from the atmosphere, I feel that online has several other advantages over land-based casinos.
Players can relax and play from the comfort of their own home and don’t need to drive anywhere. This means they have full control over the environment and the distractions around them. Want to smoke, no problem. Hate people smoking around you, again, no problem.
Another interesting aspect is that playing at an online casino actually tends to make people more aware of how much money they’re spending. Land-based casinos tend to give players chips to play with, which sometimes contributes to players not realising how much money they’re winning or losing. Whereas at an online casino, you play with real money values and thus tend to have a better idea of what is going on.
What about the future of Casinos?
I have no doubt that both forms of gambling will continue to exist for the foreseeable future. For some players out there, the atmosphere at a land-based casino is more than enough to ignore every advantage that online brings to the table. Other players enjoy using both, while some are online only. It’s great that there are so many options and this looks set to only grow going forward.
