The shift to digital is happening extremely quickly and more and more of our day to day is changing – the big shift seen over this past year has largely come without daily working lives as it is starting to become a little more clear that a permanent change to remote working could be on the way – but there could also be an opportunity for online services like casinos, as many brick and mortar and offline locations may struggle once things begin to return to normal.
Much of the shift may just occur because the online services being offered are starting to exceed the experience for offline services – features such as the ability to play multiple games at once, the growth of no verification casinos, and other big selling points like instant withdrawals were already starting to pull many away from offline casinos to online alternatives. Players also looking to explore other regions favourites went a similar way too as US casinos that accept UK players for example had become available, giving players the opportunity to play their favourite international services.
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The other big change will come as people are a little more wary about returning to their normal favourite pastimes once the coronavirus pandemic has come to a conclusion – although it seems there is some very good news with the potential for a vaccine well under way in countries like the UK, it will take a long time before this is rolled out globally and administered on a large scale, during this period of time things such as mask wearing and social distancing will largely remain in place – and with this attendance for offline or brick and mortar locations may naturally drop with online alternatives remaining a preference for many. There may be an eventual shift when comfort returns, but experts have already suggested by that point many players will be retained through these online services as the features offered are much more exciting and that offline services can’t match them, leading to a more permanent shift despite circumstances.
With other technology such as virtual reality well on the way too, the bridge between offline and online may be closing quickly, as the social and multiplayer aspect of using offline services quickly fades as online options fill that gap too leaving the only benefit being the physical attendance. It will certainly be an interesting shift however, there will always be those players who prefer the real thing to the online alternatives but find it hard to deny traditional locations being stuck in the past and not being able to offer a full range of features – does this mean the future for gambling is set in the online space entirely? It will certainly take some time to tell, but if current figures are anything to go by, it’s safe to assume for the vast majority of players changing back to the way things were before may be taking a step backward completely, and online services continue to be their way forward.
