The increasing acceptance of the digital currency Bitcoin is among the latest trends in online gambling, according to a recent market report.
Published by yStats.com, a Hamburg-based secondary research organization, the “Global Online Gambling and Betting Market 2014” report showed that the online gambling and betting segment is increasing, giving rise for the current trends and developments in the field, including the growth of Bitcoin-powered casinos and Bitcoin gambling sites.
“While land-based lottery and casinos still dominate the gambling scene, online real-money gambling and betting are growing rapidly,” said yStats.com CEO Yücel Yelken.
Aside from the role of the digital currency in the Bitcoin gambling industry growth, the report also showed that the increase was caused by the trend in the use of smartphones and tablets. In fact, figures showed that as mobile gambling users increase over time, Bitcoin mobile casino gambling is expected to reach double-digit rates and to grow beyond 40% of the total online gambling market by 2018.
Another trend pointed out by the yStats.com report is the flourishing sector of social gambling, which roots from the game developers’ will to monetize gaming on various social networks.
With the sudden growth of online gambling on a global scale, which is predicted to surge up by 10% annually for the next few years as manifested in the current trends in the field, governments of different nations are being forced to act and to regulate this form of entertainment.
However, the regulatory landscape on online gambling and betting is varied, as pointed out in the report. For instance, much of Western Europe has laws on online gambling and betting, but North America and major Asian countries still await developments in their regulatory policies.
As traditional online gambling and betting are not completely covered by governing laws, the drive to regulate Bitcoin online gambling, on the other hand, may not happen anytime soon.