Will Online Casinos Thrive in 2021?

Online casinos as a whole have been thriving for a while now as many have been growing over the past decade with the changes in mobile gaming, but the past year in particular has had a huge impact on the market as land-based options have closed and led to the reliance on online services. It has already been announced that some land-based options are looking to re-open once again, with big gambling hubs like Vegas outlining their own plans for moving forward, but will the reopening have an impact on the online casinos, or will online casinos continue to succeed much in the same way they have been?

Many have expanded to other services – Much of the success will come as many online services have been able to expand what they offer, the biggest shift lately has come with the closure of many land-based betting locations and the growing number of online casinos that have started to offer betting as part of their own service, some can be found here that don’t subscribe to initiatives such as Gamstop which have been launched to help lower the number of problem players and slow the growth that has been seen, and are certainly helping the online platform.

Online will still be the way forward for many too – Many have already become accustomed to the change to online and may be less willing to return to land-based options, the accessibility and ease of access create newer opportunities for players who may be located too far away from an offline option or just feel less willing to weigh the risks of being in a crowded room even post-pandemic. This factor alone will help the continued success of online casinos and may also encourage more players to make the shift.

There’s no guarantee land-based options can return – Whilst some locations are outlining their plans to re-open, it isn’t a guarantee that all will be able to open again at all. Some restrictions for many will remain in place until much later in the year, and the longer delays to re-open will continue to make it harder for some to ensure they can re-open at all, and although there’s plenty of good news with this like vaccination moving forward, that is still no guarantee that things will return to normal in a timely manner. Timing will be key here, and further delays could mean that some will have to close for good. There’s no doubt that online casinos will continue to thrive throughout 2021, but may be more a question of just how much success they can find, and how much the market will change as both online and offline options start to adapt to what may be the ‘new’ normal.