With 2020 off to a roaring start, we’ve officially waved goodbye to the year previous, leaving many within the casino industry to wonder what this next decade might bring. With further technological evolution seeming inevitable and growth likely to continue unabated, it appears there’s a lot to look forward to, but what sort of form is this set to take?
One of the biggest drivers of growth within the sector of late has been the continual innovations of a number of key software developers, such as Yggdrasil, Microgaming, NetEnt, and Playtech, and this is one area to keep paying attention to. But where else should interested parties be looking to get an idea of what the year ahead looks like?
Greater diversity
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One factor that’s likely to have a major impact on the slot game sector moving forward is that a number of new countries have entered the arena. From the US to European nations, this group have all put in place new legislation that allows their residents to gamble online for the first time, and this is something developers are going to be all too aware of. As a result, we’re likely to see content that’s geared toward a more diverse audience, meaning that sites like SlotsOnlineCanada.com, which rank the top online casinos, might soon see some new names taking advantage of this and vying for top spot.
Improved interactive bonus rounds
Slots have undergone a dramatic overhaul in the last five years, but innovation is unlikely to stall. Rather than letting their products stagnate, software developers will push toward making even bigger and better slots in 2020, with interactive bonus rounds about to see some major improvements. These will give players greater control over their online casino experience, with the ability to tailor this to their own tastes and preference. An increase in gamification will almost certainly follow as a result.
A greater emphasis on mobile gaming
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While this increased gamification is sure to have a positive impact on the player experience, it’s not all they have to look forward to in 2020. Software developers will also be looking to bring a greater range of titles to mobile gaming platforms in response to their snowballing popularity. According to the statistics, this is a trend that will continue into the decade, with almost 50 percent of all online gaming now done through tablets and smartphones. While already impressive, some experts expect this figure to rise to around 80 percent by year’s end.
Virtual reality to enter the arena
One technology that's caused a lot of excitement in the online slot industry of late is virtual reality (VR). While this has not been explored overmuch up to this point, there are murmurings that some of the industry’s top developers are allocating resources toward trialing it, with the aim of bringing it to the market in the not-too-distant future. Both NetEnt and Microgaming are reputed to be working on such projects. Indeed, as reported at NetEnt.com, the former has already released a fully-functional VR casino complete with slots, so further investment into this seems inevitable.
With lots of new and exciting developments on the horizon for 2020, we can’t wait to see how the online slot industry evolves over the coming year.
