For the past decade, online gaming has steadily increased its popularity. In fact, as of September 2022, it is estimated there are around 3.24 million gamers around the world, with Asia accounting for 1.5 billion gamers alone.
This growth was only made possible through the diversification of gaming and a new wave of game formats. From online gambling to esports, the gaming industry has found new ways to attract players and increase revenues.
The Rise of online gambling
Online gambling is currently one of the main forms of online home entertainment and one that has particularly grown in the past two years. While casino games have always been quite popular across the world, with many of them even entering pop culture and becoming global symbols of gambling, games that pay real money have boomed exponentially because of generalized improvements in internet connection and advances in smartphone computing power.
As devices became more sophisticated many online gambling platforms have been able to optimize their content for mobile use and successfully transition into mobile apps.
This allows gambling enthusiasts to access their favorite titles from their phones and play on the go. Users looking to start their casino journey or just experience this new form of gambling can try it out here, where they will find a broad range of casino games, including classic casino titles, innovative games, and live casino games.
The easiness of access to these platforms has made gambling not only popular but highly profitable. Consequently, the latest data shows that the global market size of casinos and online gambling is now at US$231 billion.
Mobile gaming and esports
15 years ago, regular console gaming was the dominant gaming format around the world. However, with the rise of smartphones and an overall improvement in internet connections, mobile gaming has risen and quickly dominated the global gaming market. Currently, it's already estimated that 60% of all gamers in the world access games using their mobile phones.
This democratization of gaming has led not only to significant investments in the gaming market, with many social media and streaming giants currently trying to dip their toes into the industry, but also the surge in popularity of new gaming genres. For instance, puzzle, strategy, simulation, and lifestyle are some of the most popular gaming genres in mobile gaming.
Simultaneously, with more users playing games and a generalized increase in the interest in games, a new market opportunity appeared: esports. In essence, esports are professional gaming competitions where teams from all over the world compete to win massive money prizes. While this new industry might have raised some eyebrows initially such tournaments attract millions of watchers and have essentially created their own audiences.
The most watched competition to date was the 2021 Singapore Free Fire World Series, which had a reported viewership of 5.41 million people. In 2021 alone it is estimated that a total of 234 million users watched esports live events regularly.
Ultimately, online gaming, fueled by online gambling, mobile gaming, and esports, has expanded massively in the past few years. Going forward, new immersive gaming experiences are expected to be the primary strategy to keep gaming lucrative but also attractive.
