How online casinos have reshaped the UK gambling market

Online casinos have reshaped the gambling industry in all sorts of ways – not just at the customer level but also from a marketing, gaming development, and regulatory perspective. Not only have they transformed this dynamic, but they’ve also changed the structure of many gambling operators’ business models over the last 30 years.

They’ve also forever transformed the way many companies within the industry operate, discarding age-old tools and advertising techniques and replacing them with a digital-only approach, finding entirely new generations of bettors with their innovative approach. That’s not to say that land-based casinos don’t still have a place in the UK gambling market, but their role has diminished immensely in the wake of the once-in-a-century development of the internet and the online casinos that have flourished as a result of it.

Evolution in consumer attitude and convenience

Before the advent of the Internet, casino gaming was a basic and easy-to-understand industry. Land-based casino’s floor plans and business models were not dissimilar to how they look today. Punters would come in, put their money down, and have a spin on a slot machine or a few rounds at the roulette table. Nowadays, all you need to do is unlock your phone or your tablet and ensure you have an internet connection. Once online, you can sign up and begin gambling within a few minutes.

However, convenience doesn’t just arise from a game-playing perspective. It impacts all levels, including quicker withdrawals and deposits, and access to associated websites that can offer a raft of technical analyses or comprehensive reviews. Sites like CasinoTopsOnline have risen to the very top of the casino review industry, providing non-biased, market-leading expertise and establishing a notable brand in their communities as a result, providing for millions of people.

And they aren’t alone – these online gambling review sites are plentiful, though only a trusted few seem to be preferable destinations for seasoned gamblers.

Prior to the internet, this market simply wasn’t big enough, or diverse enough, to validate the size of such a large and reputable review site. However, as the number of casinos and customers grew exponentially, an avenue emerged for companies to review the litany of sites appearing, allowing casino gamers to choose which platforms they most enjoy.

UK vs the world, and the UK Gambling Act 2005

The emergence of online casinos meant that casino companies now had to compete against the very best digital providers on a global playing field. Gone were the days of simply attracting a local pool of bettors – there was a global market at stake and tens of billions worth of potential profit.

While it would be naive to suggest that online casinos have been the sole reason for such huge change, the emergence of such convenient, innovative ways to gamble meant that legislators also accepted the challenge. The UK became the first country to develop robust, watertight legislation that meant online casino companies were able to develop their ideas and their businesses before they aimed at a burgeoning global sector.

If you look at the current sports betting and casino gaming revolution sweeping across the US, a lot of this has been driven by the change in legislation and the introduction of millions of new American gamblers to the digital market. Many of these punters herald from states that have never allowed casino gaming, and while the UK has long had less stringent approaches to gambling laws, the UK Gambling Act 2005 truly opened the doors and laid the foundation for the online casino industry we experience today.

Not only did this Act usher in a world where gambling adverts were allowed on TV and radio for the first time, but it coincided with the phenomenal rise of internet-based gaming and supercharged the potential for online casinos to offer a package and a platform that was miles ahead of the traditional, land-based alternatives.

Getting ahead of the digital competition

Although it might seem like an obvious move now, back in the mid-1990s, the majority of the prominent gambling names in the UK weren’t particularly keen to invest in new, primitive internet that was slow, dial-up based, and involved a whole host of ungainly wires and monitors just to access basic web pages.

Computing power and technology were growing, and while it was exciting, people in the sector were still doubtful of the likes of Bill Gates, who said that one day, every home in the US would have some version of a computer in their home. Microsoft’s world-renowned CEO also predicted a world of fake news and streaming services over 30 years ago, when the majority of people in the UK had no idea of how the internet worked.

Pioneering UK-based digital gambling providers

However, some UK casino companies spotted a serious gap in the market. Not only was this new, trailblazing Microsoft CEO spiralling up the lists of the world’s wealthiest individuals, but he was also predicting that computers could host movies, download music and act as large streaming network libraries. If they could one-day host movies, they would have no problem hosting online casino servers, and so the quest began to reshape the UK gambling market.

While Netflix poured tens of millions of dollars into the production of blockbuster films like The Irishman, they had a long, arduous rise to the top. Likewise, those casino companies that set up their domains in the 1990s and spent considerable resources exploring ways to facilitate digital casino gaming inevitably faced some initial teething issues.

However, investment started to ramp up in computing and internet technology, broadband connections became widespread, and most importantly, the cost of accessing the internet became affordable to the masses, meaning that millions of people were now introduced to a market where they could check out this new gambling revolution.

Rather crucially, many of the prominent names in UK casino gaming quickly cottoned on to the fact that it was cheaper to operate a digital casino, you could aim for a national market instead of a domestic land-based one, and you could host a wider array of games and tables on your server. This led to a huge injection of research and cash, enhancing the overall product and continuing its appeal to new bettors in their droves.

Tablets, smartphones, and all things portable

While the internet was building the foundation and the pillars for online casinos to become a major player in the UK gambling market, it is the mass adoption and availability of mobile phones with internet access that have taken the whole model to a completely new level of success.

Without internet technology, mass adoption, and ultimately, a much cheaper avenue to play online games, smartphones wouldn’t have been effective in driving such change. However, once you compound all of these variables, the smartphone becomes the final piece of a puzzle that turned online casinos from one small area of gambling into the dominant force.

Within 10 years, from the early noughties to the early 2010s, mobile phones went from devices used simply to call and send texts, to all-encompassing mini-computers that were able to take photos and videos and connect to the internet – even if you were away from your home. By becoming so convenient and advancing to the point where internet latency issues were becoming increasingly uncommon, smartphones became a tool that online casinos were able to make use of to steal a march over the more old-fashioned ways of casino gaming.

Responsible gambling

As the ease of access resulted in a colossal uptake in the number of people choosing to play casino games online, the internet has also become a source for any additional help that bettors can seek out regarding problem gambling. Although problem gambling doesn’t impact all bettors, and millions of people can play casino games within their intended financial and time limits, other bettors unfortunately fall outside of this remit and can develop issues with their gambling.

If you believe you’re falling into a dangerous pattern with your gambling, some of the red flags you must be aware of include: seeing any gambling game as a source of income, exceeding time and deposit limits, or feeling like gambling is beginning to have a detrimental impact on close personal relationships and friendships. Seek help immediately if you believe you’re falling into any of these categories.

Final thoughts

For online casinos to dominate the UK gambling market in the way they have in just under 30 years, we shouldn’t downplay the importance of each of the factors we’ve discussed today. Without favourable legislation, the incredible rise and development of smartphones and portable mobile devices, and internet access becoming highly accessible, faster, and cheaper at the same time, online casinos would have had a much tougher time changing the landscape of the market.

This doesn’t just apply to those casinos that operate in the UK, either – without the platforms becoming a far better option for millions of gamblers, they wouldn’t have had anywhere near the seismic impact they have. As with any industry, any significant changes are often a perfect storm of positive factors coming together, rather than just one big, home run moment. It’s showing no signs of slowing, either, with its dominance set to continue in our mobile-centric society.