Over the last few years, online gambling has significantly grown. This is why many are now starting to wonder if land casinos will ever survive the rise of online casinos. Some are wondering if land casinos will eventually go extinct.

More and more people are simply starting to prefer gambling online instead of visiting land casinos regularly. It’s convenient to access any casino game without having to go elsewhere. Nowadays, you only need your smartphone and the internet to play any real money games you want.

When choosing an online casino, you can also immediately notice how generous they could be when it comes to bonuses. Sure, land casinos have great offers too but they usually don’t offer as many promos as online casinos would. After all, online casinos can afford it better because they have no establishment to run and manage.

With the continuous growth of online casinos, what will happen to land casinos? Will they eventually be a thing of the past?

Online Casino Growth in Numbers

According to Grand View Research, the global online gambling market value was able to reach over 57.54 billion USD last year. It is projected to continue to grow with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.7% until 2030. This means that by 2030, the value of the online sector alone will reach over 153.57 billion USD.

The growth of online gambling is attributed to the rise of mobile and internet usage worldwide. Mobile gaming alone is also gaining more popularity and because anyone can easily access casino games like any regular games, more people are just more curious. Online gambling is now a less taboo subject.

How the Pandemic Impacted Land and Online Casinos

The pandemic has also helped boost the growth of online gambling. There was a time in 2020 when land casinos had to temporarily halt their operations because of government lockdowns. Casino hotspots like Las Vegas and Atlantic City suffered a lot because of this.

Until now, land casinos around the world are seeing a decline in revenue. This is even if there are no more restrictions in place. Even if the pandemic is somewhat over, many people are still avoiding crowded public places.

There are frequent land casino visitors who no longer go to their favorite casinos because they already found a great alternative, which is online casino gaming and sports betting.

The Australian Gambling Research Centre found that one in three of their survey participants signed up for a new online casino and betting account during the pandemic. Even if the sports industry was also paralyzed for a bit during the lockdowns, people still had odds to bet on.

Some betting companies found punters for non-sports-related events like politics. There are even bookies that have odds on how certain countries would act on the pandemic and other crises. It was simply obvious that many found betting a great way to entertain themselves.

And since land casinos and bookies were closed, they all resorted to online casinos and sportsbooks. Many online operators did report a surge in their web traffic during the lockdown. However, now that people are going out more, it doesn’t mean that online casinos are no longer growing.

Most projections from different research groups only see online casinos growing. Whether land casinos are once again thriving, on the other hand, is something we still have to find out. It’s only been a short while since most land casinos are fully operational again.

Conclusion

So now that the pandemic is waning over time, does it mean that land casinos will go back to their glory? Well, it’s still hard to say at the moment. Land casinos may not be far behind when it comes to modernization and technology, but they have to continue to find ways to remain relevant.

However, we can say for sure that land casinos will be there to stay. It’s just that for now, they are leaning towards being a tourist destination. People would still, at some point, want to experience being in an actual casino or going to places like Las Vegas, Macau, and Atlantic City.

Still, online casinos and sportsbooks will likely continue to dominate the gambling market. This is especially now that more places are starting to regulate online gambling activities. An example is how some states in the United States were still able to push for sports betting despite a health crisis.

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