There is a new online trend that is driving social media growth putting up to 417.2 billion in 2026, according to the Markets and Markets research group. The news is also affecting the online gambling industry, whose operators are scrambling to align their platforms to anticipate the growth in mobile betting. And although there are not many games available yet, there is a start.
The trend is nothing new if not the tremendous jump from 2024’s 349.3 billion. What has happened? The post-COVID-19 remote workforce is finding more free time. And it is translating into the betting market. During his election run for US president, former Senator John McCain was found playing poker on his computer during a security council meeting.
That is not new, but now, there are millions of McCains playing online and not just poker, but all forms of online gambling. These users have more time on their hands and are looking for fun and looking for gambling. This leads us to ask, what are the types of online gambling?
Types of online gambling
Online gambling can be classified into four main areas:
- Online casino gambling
- Online sports betting
- Online Poker
- Online horse racing
Mobile Betting Trends
The major shift started with the pandemic but it’s now accumulating and is trending new online gambling strategies. Mobile betting trends have shifted the way operators manage casinos.
- Betting competitions:Gambling companies are now including more competition in their betting options, no longer depending on the margin of wins.
- Crypto Currency and Gambling:The introduction of cryptocurrency has made it easier to transfer money without a trail, and that’s what gamblers love.
- Mobile shower: In the last two years the smartphone population has grown to over 1 billion, making online betting a new option
- Play for fun games: More betting platforms are introducing games that are only for fun, and nongambling. Members are trending entertainment and are happy to purchase the perks for these games.
Casino Gambling
Casino gambling is the largest type of online gambling. Users play popular top online casino games in a virtual setting, with or without live dealers. Besides the six original online casino games, gambling sites are starting to offer gaming options for fun. Click here to try.
Nonetheless, the original online casino games still draw the majority of the action.
- Slot machines
- Blackjack
- Poker
- Roulette
- Baccarat
- Bingo
Online casinos are operated on dual online gambling platforms. The first is a database server where clients’ information is stored. The second is the gaming server where the gambling software is hosted.
Most online gambling software is bent on single-platform hosting and the company shares ongoing revenues as long as the operator keeps the software. The single-platform software is usually only sports betting or casino gambling. There are a few like Inet Software that offers full set platforms that include sports betting, casino, horse racing, poker, and bingo.
Sports Betting
The online gambling industry probably started with sports betting sites dating back to the late 1990s when players like Richard Charlante, Ronald Ross, Dino Davinci, and others moved offshore. Betting giants such as Bet CRIS, Bet DSI, Getmore Sports, were founders of the new online industry.
According to Wikipedia.org, in 1994, Antigua and Barbuda passed the Free Trade & Processing Act, allowing licenses to be granted to organizations applying to open online casinos. Before online casinos, the first fully functional gambling software was developed by Microgaming, an Isle of Man-based software company. This was secured with software developed by CryptoLogic, an online security software company. Safe transactions became viable; this led to the first online casinos in 1994.
Sports betting lends itself to all American sports, soccer, rugby, cricket, boxing, tennis, and other world sports. However online sports gambling includes betting on other events such as the Oscars, elections, stock markets, and almost any world event that is hard to rig. General types of sports betting are
- Spread betting
- Moneyline
- Runline
- Total betting
- Puckline
- Propositions
- Parlays and teasers
Online Poker Gambling
Online poker was declassified by the US in 1999 as a form of gambling and reclassified as a skill game. The decision was made on the basis that the players play against each other instead of against the betting house. The house makes its earnings from the rake, receiving a percentage of the total wagers.
- Texas hold ’em
- Omaha
- Seven-card stud
- Razz
- HORSE
Horse racing
Horse racing is a popular type of online gambling but is only a fraction of the online gambling industry. Most houses only receive bets on thoroughbred US tracks and internationally. Since the US permits online horse racing betting, offshore casinos tend to have a small portion of this sector of the online gambling industry.
The US government successfully eliminated online sports gambling from its onshore gambling companies. This sent more organizations offshore and into legal jurisdictions that allow for web betting. Although poker betting and horse racing betting remain legal.
Online Gambling and Money Transfer
One of the largest companies affected by the US anti-gambling act was Paypal, which at the time was the main payment method for offshore gambling sites. With a high fine, the US government almost closed the company, however after removing gambling from its platform, it was allowed to keep operating.
Another corporation, Neteller was also penalized and the cofounder was imprisoned. Neteller has since retired from the US market. Nonetheless, US citizens continue to gamble online and transfer funds to online gambling facilities. Most of them use person-to-person transfers through Western Union or Moneygram.
A big player that has been online since the early 2000s is Skrill, formerly Moneybooker, and has moved on steadily with the gambling industry.
Online gambling will continue to grow as more smartphone users adapt to mobile gambling and take their leisure time to new levels of entertainment. However the US government rules, it must soon decide on a way to deal with the new mobile trend as it is now impacting online gambling with unprecedented growth.
