Like most other industries, the internet has had a large impact on the gambling industry. Regardless of personal sentiments towards gambling, from an industry point of view, it is hard to say if the changes are for the better or for the worse.
Cheap Technology
Day to day the costs for starting, and maintaining, an online business are sinking. Being it the development, the costs for hosting or even the required bandwidth and traffic costs that are steadily sinking.
Pro: Business Expansion
Establishing a brick and mortar casino is an enormous endeavor, requiring a substantial investment to get the business started. In addition to construction, there are also high costs for training personnel and considerable monthly expenses.
Compared to a normal casino, an online casino is much easier to set up. You can reach a broader audience, independent of location, and there are practically no capacity restraints or scalability issues. For a fraction of the price of a real-world casino, you can set up a competitive online casino. It is also easy to change the casino theme overnight by redesigning online slot games, and other design elements, accordingly.
Con: Increased Competition
As advantageous cheaper technology can be for a casino operator, it is equally good for competitors. Not only does the established competition share the same benefits of moving to an online platform, but the financial threshold is also lower for new competition to start in the industry.
Easy accessibility
We are living in a time of short attention spans and a lower willingness to commit. This could be a result of the internet, or the success of the internet can be a consequence of this behavior. In any case, e-commerce is the main beneficiary.
Pro: Higher revenue
E-commerce includes all industries that are selling a product or service online, the gambling industry is no exception.
The fact that anyone who desires, regardless of location and time, could sit on a virtual roulette table or have a shot at a slot machine, has definitely increased the number of potential players. Without the hurdle of having to be physically present in a specific location, a lot more people will give in to a mood to online casino play for real money, shop or play.
Con: Controlling addiction
All serious gambling institutions have a moral and legal obligation to protect minors and vulnerable adults from harm. In this case, keeping minors away from gambling and controlling adults that might be prone to addiction. It is relatively easy to monitor a classical casino but the anonymity of the internet and the abundance of providers makes it very difficult to control online casinos.
The borderless Internet
Although it is clear that without the internet there would be no online casinos, we should take the general concept of the borderless internet into consideration.
Pro: International Business
No borders mean no physical restrictions on the targeted customer base. The internet allows service providers, like casinos, to widen their customer base internationally with the help of an online presence. This is especially beneficial for industry leaders with a good reputation. Newcomers can benefit from online marketing tools like social media to build a reputation among the younger, internet savvy, generation.
Con: Black Sheep
No borders can also mean less regulation. As much as the internet is a blessing, its anonymity can be a curse for legal, licensed casinos that invest a lot in transparency and compliance to rules and regulations. Even an online casino has substantial license fees, expenses for licensed software and maintenance costs to comply to imposed regulations. This provides fair and transparent conditions for players and a guarantee that their money is safe. Unfortunately, a lot of players are not aware of these strict regulations and fall for promises of statistically impossible win chances. Since scammed players usually do not distinguish between legitimate casinos and fake ones in the first place, grievances often tarnish the image of online casinos in general, potentially harming business.
Conclusion
Although there are a lot of challenges for online casinos, the opportunities outweigh the problems. Advances in technology that accommodate the black sheep of the industry will eventually find a way to stop. More secure payment systems and an increased trust in privacy safeguards will reduce skepticism, consequently boosting the industry.
