Where is the Online Slots Industry Going?

May 14, 2015

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If you look at the history of the online slots industry and how innovation has come and gone, then you can look forward to what's happening in the larger online gambling community and figure out where it's likely to be going. This is important as a player because you want to know what types of games and features you can expect to see coming in the future. With some of the big changes in hardware and software and the current trends in the industry, we can make some pretty good estimations about what's going to come next.

The first thing to realize is that HTML5 is taking over. It's already dominating the mobile space as Macromedia Flash is pushed aside, and pretty soon it's going to take over the desktop space as well. The reason for this is one of long-term efficiency. Simply put, it's an issue of how fewer resources can be used to build a game in HTML5 that runs on all platforms compared to building several versions of the same game from the ground up on multiple platforms. It saves money in the long run even though it costs a little more in the short run as developers have to port old favorites over to the new format.

Second, and tying into the HTML5 push, is that mobile is going to become more important than ever. It's been the fastest-growing segment of the online casino market for a couple of years now, and it's only getting bigger and bigger. If you look at the top rankings for any phone's app store, you'll see that they're dominated by play money casinos. These rankings are based on total revenue, so if people are depositing money to play with play money, you know for sure that they'll play for real money once they get the chance.

And this ties into our third point: social gaming. More social gaming tie-ins are coming with slots, and there's nothing that's going to change that. The biggest thing people miss out on in an online casino compared to a live one is that social aspect, and adding more social interaction to online slots is the biggest way to keep growth going. This is going to tie in with mobile since it's perfect for social interaction, and you can expect a massive social networking initiative to come for mobile players.

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