The future of gambling: ten major trends for 2025

Over the past few years, online gambling has become one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy. The number of casinos and betting shops continues to grow and new players are emerging. The iGaming industry is growing rapidly, attracting millions of users and huge cash flows. To keep you up to date with all the industry trends, we have gathered ten major iGaming trends for the next year.

Gambling legalization: The global wave of gambling legalization continues. Kazakhstan particularly stands out in this regard, as its strict anti-gambling measures and restrictions often become the center of attention. Asian countries, the Philippines, island nations, Africa and Latin America, as well as large areas such as North America and Europe are seeing similar actions. Local authorities are starting to crack down hard on slot machines without a country license, making demands of companies with international licenses, such as those from Curacao.

Offshore casino and betting sites, which are banned in a number of countries, have been blocked. Nevertheless, there is another side of the issue: illegal firms find ways to circumvent the laws by making advertising campaigns, creating sports media with names similar to the brands of illegal bookmakers, and creating new schemes. However, practice shows that they will still lose the battle with the state.

The latest formats of slots and games With the increasing number of casinos and bookmakers on the market, more and more providers are producing and renting out slots. Players now have access to over a thousand games. However, it really captures not only a brand new visual style but also completely fresh mechanics. Crash games have become popular in recent years. It all started with Aviator, and then Plinko, Sapper, and ladder games were added. Obviously, this trend for a variety of crash games will only continue to grow, and we can expect entirely new ways to interact with these products.

Shifting focus on high-quality traffic sources: advertisers are getting more and more involved with players. Stricter requirements for player actions are being imposed by companies so that arbitrageurs can expect payouts due to increasing competition between products and a weakening of the connection between player and casino.

Although traffic from Facebook is becoming less attractive to advertisers, channels such as push notifications, teasers and email newsletters are almost impossible to attract players with bonuses alone anymore. Companies don’t want to pay more for such traffic, so they prefer PPC, ASO, SEO and Influencer marketing. Users visiting these channels are much more active – they are more willing to make deposits, stay in the game longer and even return without bonuses. It is much more profitable to retain such players.

Tip for arbitrageurs: if your traffic still depends on one source, it’s time to think about diversification. At any moment, advertisers may abandon secondary websites as Facebook may start to go “stormy”.

In the sports betting industry, more tournaments and formats are popping up. When new teams and competitions emerge, already familiar events undergo changes. The rules of the Champions League have recently been changed. New sports are being added to the betting list. Cybersports is quickly gaining interest and new bets on the games are constantly being added. While a few years ago it was limited to games such as CS

and Dota 2, the choice today has expanded considerably. Games such as Valorant, Warcraft, Starcraft, Call of Duty and many others are now available on computers and mobile devices, both team and single player.

In addition, unique events, mechanics, and even bonus systems are being added that allow users to interact with betting platforms. This allows players to become more involved in the process, keeping the bookmaker interested. It matters not only whether a player wins or loses at this stage, but also how they interact with the product. as keeping them on the platform is the ultimate goal.

The product has a higher value to arbitrageurs, especially in relation to RevShare.

Raising living conditions in low and middle-income countries Sometimes a message like, “Stop traffic immediately, there’s a coup in the country!” appears in chat rooms or arbitrage channels Nowadays, people are participating in demonstrations rather than sitting on the Internet. However, there are fewer and fewer such messages. Social institutions and technological solutions are now becoming more and more reliable. Problems with payments or internet connectivity are not as common. The internet now covers large villages and major cities in African countries. This gives arbitrageurs more confidence and new opportunities.

App hypothesis: in the near future we may see a new trend in the form of alternative platforms for advertising and promoting apps. Currently, Google Play and App Store dominate by blocking apps and restricting advertising of iGaming products. As a result, many arbitrageurs are starting to look for other ways to promote banned apps. These include platforms such as Xiaomi and Huawei ads, which have the potential to become important new players in this area.

Pumping up the gaming experience: products are constantly being forced to improve to capture players’ attention by creating new bonus systems, adding more and more events, slots and betting options. All of this is done to maintain a positive gaming experience. The general trend nowadays is to keep players coming back as often as possible. This could be daily bonuses, regular deposit bonuses, closed events or tournaments that are accessed based on the player’s success in the game.

Gamification: today, players can gamify gambling is not as easy as it used to be, despite the fact that the casino offers many betting options. The entire gameplay and what you do is crucial. Although game mechanics are not yet widespread in the business, they have been around for a long time. For example, you can see players interacting with companies on social media or participating in offline events.

Gamification is not a mechanical and impersonal phenomenon. It adds an element of play to the process so that the consumer engages with the product rather than just betting on it. For example, many bookmakers run contests to predict the outcome of a match or score. This trend has now entered casinos. It’s no longer just betting; there are now tournaments, “heated” machines, cashback on random slots and leaderboards where you can see the results of other players.

Artificial Intelligence in iGaming Services In the world of iGaming, companies are actively using artificial intelligence in their day-to-day operations. Neural networks help developers create new game variations and designs. Companies are also using AI to analyze data and reduce the workload of employees, especially in routine work such as tech support.

The rise of Influence Marketing. Advertising, even the most creative, is not as effective today as it used to be. Promoting products using media faces attracts more attention. Compared to videos with celebrities like Mellstroy and Neymar, it is obvious that audiences are more receptive to celebrities than regular people.

Nowadays, traffic owners and opinion leaders are becoming real influencers who promote businesses. This trend is growing very fast. Teams and casinos are creating their own influencers and building media centers to promote their products.

Conclusion: We have to adapt to the changes in the world around us. Some trends have already disappeared and others are just starting to spread. Being up to date with fashion trends and catching the wave is like a hot recommendation: the earlier you catch it, the more you will benefit.