Officiated gambling activities can be traced as early as 1790. A man named Harry Ogden is known to be the first person to profit from bookmaking activity. He operated the Newmarket racecourse and studied the field. He eventually offered odds on every horse.
With this, betting was mainly all bout horse races until 1961. It was in this year when bookmakers were finally allowed to expand. More and more people started to place bets or gamble because of this. It was a growing industry, but developments started to really happen in 1986.
This was when the technology of bookmakers improved and the gambling laws were changed. Bookmakers were then allowed to have a place where punters could have drinks and watch the horse races. Slot machines and fixed odds terminals with virtual races were also available here.
Over 10 years later, the use of the internet rose. It was in 1998 when the industry started to have online gambling companies. Online bingo and poker games became available on the internet. Some of the pioneers in online gambling are Betfair and Betdaq.
The rise of internet use has significantly boosted the gambling industry over the years. In fact, the majority of global gambling revenue is from its online sector. This is why many gambling operators are now focusing on offering their services online. There’s just really a big market online and even the government knows about this.
In the United States, sports betting is becoming more widespread and it’s no longer impossible to have more states that will also allow the operations of local casinos in the future. The Americans in states where local gambling is prohibited can still play casino games online and wager on sports online.
There is no federal law that exactly prohibits Americans from wagering on casinos and sportsbooks that are based offshore. However, this could be risky and this is why it’s important to only choose reputable and trusted online casinos. You can rely on WonderPunter Sportsbook & Casino sites to determine which operators are the best.
In 2012, the online gambling industry was already valued at around 4 billion US dollars. This is an 8 percent increase from how much it was valued in 2008. This was when everybody started to see that online gambling is the future of the industry.
In 2015, the industry was already worth over 40 billion US dollars and by 2025, this is expected to double up to 87 million US dollars. This is surely the fastest-growing segment of the online gambling market revenue.
Definitely, the development of technology has helped this industry a lot. There have been many changes over the past few years. Improvements and innovations are continuous and so people can expect a lot more from this gaming sector.
The truth is that online gaming is already what’s making the gambling industry continuously flourish and so the operators have to take it to the next level. After the rise of the internet comes the rise of mobile technology.
Mobile gambling is now seen as the future of the industry and this makes a lot of sense. More and more people worldwide are now starting to be mobile or smartphone users. Mobile phones and devices are becoming more affordable than gaming consoles, laptops, and computers.
Mobile gaming is simply a big trend and real money gaming is part of this. Online casinos are now made mobile-friendly and some of them took it to the next level by having their own downloadable apps. This is to keep up with the ever-changing demands of the public.
Having an app downloaded is just much easier than having to log in to a website. An app is just typically simpler to use and easier to navigate. This is also why there is now quite a competition when it comes to the features and services that casinos and betting apps offer.
In terms of payment, things have also changed a lot in this industry. The online gambling operators and players started to deal with bank deposits before online payment options like credit and debit cards became available.
Eventually, the use of digital wallets like PayPal grew as this helps transactions remain secure. It didn’t stop there since as of now, players can now choose to pay with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin. The use of cryptos also promises secure transactions and a bit of anonymity. It helps you avoid having to disclose your banking information every time you make a transaction online.
Overall, the online gambling market is still expected to grow. More people will eventually be playing online casino games and we can only expect the industry to keep getting better.