With a ban on live sports and the closure of brick-and-mortar casinos during restrictions imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic, the usual sporting seasons and events have been postponed or cancelled in almost every country. For sports-bettors and casual gamblers who enjoy a flutter on games such as the Euro 2020 tournament, which has been postponed until 2021, or England’s women’s football league which was cancelled altogether, the gap created in the sports betting market has been filled by online casino sites offering the same thrill of a potential big win.
With online casinos, there is no waiting for specific matches or tournaments, since bets can be placed at any time from wherever you are since online gambling is accessible from smartphones and tablets as well as desktop computers. Online sites like Netbet Casino are dedicated to offering the best online casino experience possible. This is through a large collection of games, including classic card games, slots and a live casino plus generous sign-up bonuses and promotions.
Whilst the CONCACAF Nations League, the English Premier League, Italy’s Serie A, Spanish La Liga and Turkey’s Super Lig did resume in some form after a near three-month suspension, the online casino industry has been reporting continuous growth which is predicted to continually grow by 11.5 per cent annually until 2027, helped by a larger user base driven by the Covid-19 restrictions. The increase has been helped by technically advanced platforms and the recent legalisation of gambling around the world, with Belarus legalising online casinos and Armenia also making some changes to its existing laws.
With brick-and-mortar casinos and other entertainment venues also closed for long periods of time, online platforms have gained a much larger user base across all industries, with new users registering daily. Online casinos have increased marketing and promotional activities including extra tournaments and bonuses as incentives. Investment in mobile platforms has also increased accessibility and convenience, with high-end graphics and faster processing speeds at reasonable prices. Online casinos are also able to offer more deposit options, loyalty programmes, and the option to play with anyone anywhere in the world.
Online casinos have also been harnessing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to personalise the technology for each user through the analysis of game selection so they can offer a customised welcome page and providing customer support via chatbots. The use of augmented reality and virtual reality also provides an immersive and realistic experience as close to a brick-and-mortar casino as is technologically possible.
Online casinos are also able to offer the chance to play free-play versions of their games before making a deposit. With many football league seasons re-starting late and behind closed doors, like Germany’s Bundesliga which resumed its season on 16 May after a two-month hiatus and the Major League Soccer (MLS) top-tier football league in the US that postponed matches until June, the number of sports bettors turning to online casinos is expected to continue to rise.
