Introduction

When you hear about gambling, your mind might immediately jump to the image of people huddling around tables at casinos, or traveling long distances to place bets at gambling booths. Now that’s what you would traditionally see, but the gambling industry has evolved so much since. 

In fact, the reality of the gambling scene today might just surprise you. For one, with the advent of the Internet Age, gambling has gone digital. Casinos, sports betting, and even poker games have all populated the online space. And much like how shoppers have eagerly switched to surfing online stores, gamblers have flocked to gambling software and websites. If you are looking for a reputable site to gamble on, holdem players have been liking Global Poker.

After all, gambling online is arguably so much easier for players and dealers alike. It’s a thousand times more accessible, convenient, and discreet. Players can now enjoy the gamble from the comfort of their homes, and still, get the same level of excitement. They can now play anonymously behind the screen and still get the same wins. With these attractive benefits, it’s no wonder online casinos have gained so much traction over such a short period of time. 

Apart from exponentially making gambling easier, here are four other ways going digital has shaped the gambling scene today. 

1. Sports Betting 

Even before digital options came along, sports betting was thriving. People would try and predict the results of a sporting event, and bet on the outcome. These “sports” include everything from athletic events like professional football and auto racing, to non-athletic events like predicting winners of reality TV shows. Horse racing also falls into this category, attracting millions of people annually. 

In the past, people had to place their bets in person. They would either have to head all the way down to sanctioned kiosks or event venues to make their wagers. However, everything changed when InterTops, one of the best sportsbooks globally, took advantage of the growing popularity of the Internet. They started the first-ever online sports casino in 1996, and the rest is history. 

For them as dealers, joining the digital space helped them greatly to circumvent many of the gambling laws that applied to some jurisdictions but not others. For instance, Pokerqq they could get around the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act as long as they operated from a jurisdiction outside of where it applied. This meant that they could get more customers from across the country without facing any penalties. 

This perk still rings true, and today, more people than ever before have access to these legal online sportsbooks. The world of online sports betting now rakes in billions of dollars each year, making it one of the most lucrative areas of gambling today. 

2. Multiplayer Options

A huge perk of the digital space is that it brings people from all walks of life together. And that’s true for online gambling too, with new multiplayer features being introduced in the late 1990s. For example, as technology developed, online gambling creators realized they could introduce new functions like chat rooms. 

Now without being restrained by geographical distance, people from all across America can now connect with each other and expand their gambling networks like never before. As a result, the level of engagement on online gambling platforms rose significantly. Gambling was no longer a solo activity, but rather a way to network, spend time making new friends, and building relationships. This, combined with the marketed possibility of winning big, made online gambling grow like never before. 

As a matter of fact, the draw was so huge that the global revenue of online gambling hit over $20 billion before 2010. It even triggered governments to put in place laws to prevent addiction, even banning online gambling advertisements altogether. Governments also had to figure out how to stop criminals from using gambling chat rooms for their own shady dealings and imposed regulations on such online casinos.

That said, the online gambling industry still remains larger than ever. Tapping on the appeal of the multiplayer player function, it continues to find new ways to reach new groups of people all over the world. 

3. Online Bingo 

It may be a less sophisticated gambling game, but the shift of gambling to the digital space is also great news for Bingo players. In physical casinos, games of bingo were limited to the number of rooms available, but that limit certainly does not exist online. In fact, players can now choose from an infinite number of rooms and join games that run just about every minute.

Besides Bingo, similar gambling games like raffles, lottery, and slot machines have had similar benefits from going online. Now, all of the games are usually automated and run by software. Once up and running, they cost next to nothing to run and are significantly easier for the public to access. With just a couple of clicks, players can join these games as they wish.

In addition, as many players have found, the speed and ease of access to the games doesn’t mean that winnings are any less online. Many reputable Bingo sites are known for their impressive prizes that can hit tens of millions every week. 

4. Poker Gaming

No list about online gambling is complete without mentioning the game of poker. It’s one of the games that quickly took off the moment it went online — especially when it was proven that playing online could be as lucrative as playing in the actual tournaments. With the right poker strategies and a bit of luck, online players could win big, even up to $15 million! 

Without online avenues, players were restricted to playing poker in casinos only, and games with big rewards were usually exclusive and difficult to get to. However, now with online access, players from all backgrounds are free to try their hand at events like the World Series of Poker Online. 

Not only does it cater to the elite players, but online poker is also attractive to beginners who are just starting out. There are several sites with small entry fees, together with lots of good promotions and freebies that entice new players to join. The online poker community is also free to share tips and tricks on forums and social media, so one can easily pick up the fundamentals. Beginners will also be able to find new strategies and even get feedback on their poker skills online to improve the craft. 

Conclusion

As a whole, online gambling has taken the best parts of gambling and made it much more accessible to everyone, so it’s no wonder that the industry has exploded so much over the past decade. Admittedly, it can and has caused some problems like addiction, but with regulation from the authorities and moderation on the players’ part, it offers easy entertainment for us to enjoy and maybe even earn big today.