industryoverview profilja

There’s no doubting that the iGaming industry is one of the biggest success stories of the modern, digital age. It’s a resilient sector that has had to battle some challenging economic times, but still, it brings in billions of dollars annually.

 

There’s no sign of a slowdown anytime soon, with many more people registering to enjoy sports betting and casino play on a regular basis as both casinos in the US and Canada boom in popularity. There are many drivers behind the ongoing success, but the spread of iGaming into new territories has been the most significant.

 

Industry Breakthrough

 

By 2018, there was one final frontier for this sector to conquer. Up until this point, sports betting was outlawed across the United States. Casino play was restricted to a few brick-and-mortar establishments, and very few citizens had access to online accounts.

 

All that changed when the US Supreme Court overturned an earlier ruling relating to sports betting. It was now up to individual state governments to decide whether the practice should be legalized.

 

Some states saw an instant opportunity to take advantage of new rules, while others were slower to react. As of August 2024, 38 US states have legalized sports betting of some kind, so there is a little more room for growth moving forward. Various states have legalized the use of online casinos including New Jersey and Pennsylvania where residents can access no deposit bonuses online casino pa for the best offers.

 

Casino Cousins

 

Over the border in Canada, the rules had been less restrictive prior to 2018, but there remained strict regulations relating to sports betting and casinos. Every online casino in Canada offered up to that point was open to residents in specific provinces only.

 

Slowly, the landscape continues to change and more players in Canada are gaining access to sports betting and casinos. The fact that both Canada and the United States have potential to grow means that revenue in North America, has the capacity to keep producing increased numbers.

 

The Present Day

 

At the start of 2024, the USA confirmed record figures in the iGaming sector for the third consecutive year. The industry was worth around $66 billion at that time, and there are positive prospects for 2025 and beyond.

 

Over the border in Canada, the figures were also impressive with projections showing that the market was likely to reach around $4.19 billion by the end of the year. Forecasts looked even further into the future and indicated that by 2029, the numbers could hit $5.71 billion.

 

Those are significant statistics and there are reasons for optimism moving forward, but the iGaming industry won’t be complacent about its future success.

 

Future Factors

 

Both Canada and the United States have room to develop iGaming in their respective countries. Certain states and provinces have yet to embrace sports betting and online casinos, but it’s likely that some will come on board in 2025.

 

That would allow for organic growth, and additional areas would undoubtedly lead to more revenue. Eventually, however, this practice would stop: There will be no more states and provinces opening up, and that’s when the sector could experience a slowdown.

 

The Need for Innovation

 

Like every industry, iGaming needs to adopt new technologies and innovations in order to ensure future growth. One of the biggest changes to the landscape in recent times has seen the introduction of social casinos. Also known as sweepstakes casinos, these outlets allow customers to play without using any of their own funds.

 

While the concept of free play may seem an unlikely source of additional revenue, players have taken to social casinos. They have an option to buy virtual currency and income is healthy in this area.

 

Both casinos and sportsbooks are also looking at ways to harness the power of virtual reality and augmented reality. In the casino sphere, some developers have already delivered games using AR and VR, and it’s easy to see why these would be highly anticipated.

 

When live casino rooms opened, they provided the closest possible experience to playing roulette, blackjack and other games in the real world. VR and AR can take that experience to a whole new level by allowing players to have a seat at the table.

 

Sports betting doesn’t have such an obvious need for both technologies, but there is potential with virtual sports which form a small part of many platforms. Developments such as these will certainly be under scrutiny from all sections of the industry as they look to maintain those impressive revenue figures.

 

The iGaming industry in the United States and Canada continues to show exceptional revenue growth. The immediate future seems assured due to the potential for other states and provinces to open up through next year.

 

Beyond that, the sector needs to identify areas where growth can be sustained. New technology such as virtual reality and augmented reality show examples of where these developments can help the industry grow, and it will be fascinating to see where iGaming can build in the years ahead.