New M&R study on internet casinos

The Dublin-based research company Research and Markets has released a new study of the online casino sector, examining the main issues surrounding this dynamic and growing element in the global gambling industry.

“The Global Business of Online Casino – Outlook, Forecasts and Analysis” notes that online casinos were among the first internet gaming sites to appear on the Web when they launched in the mid-1990s thanks to the pioneering efforts of software companies such as Microgaming and CryptoLogic.

Online poker followed in 1998 and by 2004 the online gambling market was estimated as having revenues of approximately $8 billion.

The study found that during the course of the past decade, the online casino market has grown out of all recognition, maintaining its position as the leading online gaming genre. The study quotes from the Casino City directory, noting that there were 774 online casinos listed when the report went to press, comprising 33 percent of the market for online games in terms of numbers of sites, compared with 34 percent two years previously.

Poker makes up 22 percent of the market (28 percent in 2008) followed by sportsbooks at 18 percent (unchanged from 2008) and bingo at 16 percent (14 percent in 2008).

R&M points out that the sector is becoming more socially acceptable, benefiting from a liberalised regulatory structure in some markets, and enjoying very substantial growth across many key demographics, including those that have been hard to reach through other types of gaming or betting such as women.

In recent years, online casino companies have embraced the capabilities of the internet, whether in terms of advanced technologies, techniques for attracting new players, developing highly liquid playing networks, or delivering ever more feature-rich games and enhanced player experience.

The M&R study examines the main issues surrounding the growing online casino industry including game and market overviews; areas of opportunity; factors affecting growth in the industry; marketing strategies of online casino companies, regulatory issues and demographics of players.

It provides case studies of the major online casino software companies and operators and analyses these to determine business models and revenue streams as well as who the industry winners and losers afre likely to be.

The report covers:
• Business Models and Platforms
• Customer Acquisition and Retention
• Regulation and Online Casinos
• Card-based Casino Games
• Dice-based Casino Games
• Wheel-based Casino Games
• Slots-based Casino Games
• Video-based Casino Games
• Virtual Reality-based Casino Games
• Case Studies
• Outlook and Forecasts

and looks at leading industry companies such as:

• Chartwell Technologies
• CryptoLogic
• Microgaming
• Playtech
• 888 Holdings
• Bodog
• PartyGaming
• William Hill