Juniper Research reports a surge in social gambling activity with the introduction of intrastate casino and lottery services in the US. This will aid in increasing global annual wagers from mobile handsets as well as tablets to $100 billion by 2017, which is an increase from just under $20 billion last year.
In their latest mobile gambling study: Casinos, Lotteries & Betting 2012-2017,’ Juniper highlights the dramatic increase in wagering that has occurred in UK-facing sportsbooks over the past year, with several already seeing around 20 percent of online wager occurring via mobile devices.
The report also noted that as sports betting currently accounted for the biggest share of mobile gambling, it would be overhauled by social internet casino gaming in the next 5 years.
The author of the report, Dr Windsor Holden, said, “Social gaming companies such as Zynga are seeking to move from play-for-fun casino games into real money gambling, while pureplay mobile casinos including Probability plc have begun to integrate with the Facebook mobile platform. In this way, consumers will be able to use their social networks to register for casino games, substantially increasing both the reach and engagement of such services.”
The Juniper report recognizes that the US remote gambling market has reopened after the 2011 decision by the US Department of Justice revealed that the Wire Act only covers sporting betting.
In the wake of this verdict, a number of US states have either enacted legislation specifically permitting such services or – as in the case of Nevada – have begun a licensing procedure.
Additional key points from the report include:
* While mobile is currently viewed primarily as a retentive tool to increase brand value, the increasing number of mobile-only customers means it will gradually become an acquisitive channel.
* The increasing deployment of mobile wallets should offer a viable alternative to credit cards as a payment mechanism for mGamblers.
