The rapid development of virtual gambling establishments began after 2000. Just a few years online casinos have become significantly more popular than the usual land-based clubs. To enumerate all the advantages of playing at online gambling sites has no sense, today everyone knows about them. The next round of a kind of evolution in online gambling was the development of mobile casinos. Were they able to replace the so-called desktop versions? If not yet, will it be possible to do so in the near future?
Mobile devices vs. PCs: trends over the last decade
No one will argue that online gambling has developed very quickly over the past 10 years. At the same time, we are talking not only about traditional casino gambling, but also about betting on sports in BC. If you turn to statistics, it becomes clear almost immediately after studying some data. For example, the citizens of Australia, considered one of the most gambling in the world, in 2014 preferred to bet on sports online using a PC or laptop (87% respondents). Only about 9.5% bettors did it from smartphones, and 2.5% bettors did it from tablets. In 2018, things have changed. There are much more bettors who bet via smartphone - 22.7%.
This happened against the backdrop of an ever-growing interest in online betting. People visiting BCs via the Internet became really many - almost 35% of all bettors (in 2015 there were about 16%). Most analysts recognized that the emergence of BC apps was a turning point. The same goes for casino gambling. The growth of those using mobile gadgets to run slots and other games has become very significant over the past few years.
Experts have studied the gambling industry in the UK. In 2020, they published data that confirmed that today it is smartphones that have become the most frequently used devices among virtual casino users. Despite the fact that many people prefer different options, smartphones have significantly "overtaken" PCs, laptops and tablets in terms of frequency of use. At the same time, their demand is growing constantly. If in 2015 gamers played from their phones much less often (23% of online casino visitors), in 2016 there were already 29%, in 2017. - 39%, in 2018. - 44%, and by the end of 2021 - almost 55%.
At the same time, some analysts have begun to note a decline in interest in desktop versions. If in 2015, 38% gamblers entered online casinos from a PC, and 61% from a laptop, in 2020 these figures have significantly decreased to 26.5% and 38.3% respectively. In other words, visitors started to play more often using mobile versions. At the same time, it is smartphones that account for the main increase, as the situation with tablets has not changed significantly (approximately 16%, both in 2015 and in 2020).
Preferences according to age
The statistics on gamers' preferences based on age were not surprising. Gamers who are more than 55 years old still prefer to play with PCs. Younger generation users (especially the 18-45 age group) hardly use PCs to play, but prefer smartphones. The age groups prefer to play from a smartphone:
- 18-24 years old - 76%;
- 25-34 - 72%;
- 35-44 - 67%;
- 45-54 - 48%;
- 55-64 - 26%;
- 65 and older - 14%.
If we talk about notebooks, the picture is a little different here. The younger generation uses them in 43%, and the older generation - in 44% cases. The familiar desktop PC is more preferred by older players after the age of 65. In the short term, PC gaming, if not completely stopped, will significantly yield to laptops and smartphones. By the way, even very old players have started to become interested in using smartphones for betting. If in 2015, the 65+ group used smartphones only in 3% cases, in 2020, 14% players will use their phones to place bets. There is no need to talk about young gamers. In 5 years, the percentage of those who run games from a smartphone in the age group from 18 to 24 years old increased from 37% to 76%.
From all of the above we can draw a simple conclusion: mobile versions of online casinos will gradually supplant desktop ones. The latter will not completely disappear, but there will be fewer and fewer "old-fashioned" players every year.
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