Over the last decade, the growth of the online casino industry has been phenomenal. Today’s online casinos can be accessed by people all over the world, whether they’re on a beach in the Caribbean or just commuting to work on the train. Thanks to the digital revolution, technology like 4G and 5G has meant that more people across the globe can afford to access online casinos, while technologies like VR are revolutionizing the gaming experience.

Online casinos have grown so much that many brick and mortar casino providers have had to significantly adapt their strategy to stay in business. When it comes to an online casino, it seems that the digital experience is becoming more and more life-like.

Below, we’ll take a look at some of the most popular online casino gaming destinations across the world.

The world’s adoption of online gambling

While the global online casino market is thriving, uptake has been slower in some countries that others. Countries like the UK have been extremely progressive when it comes to online gambling law, in which the 2005 Gambling Act legalized online gambling within the United Kingdom.

That being said, many UK online casino providers operate from Malta, where they obtain what is known as the ‘Golden Ticket’ of all casino licenses as the tax regulations are often more favorable than other countries. 15% of Malta’s income comes from the iGaming sector, in which it has quite the reputation as an industry standards upholder. Malta’s stringent rules around vetting online casino businesses has helped them establish a solid reputation for the provider among their trusted European or even global customer base.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, countries like the US and Canada have had strict online gambling laws in place for almost two decades, meaning the growth of the online casino industry in these regions has been significantly stinted. What’s more, online gambling is still 100% illegal in places like the UAE, Singapore, Cyprus and Poland.

Online gambling in the United Kingdom

As mentioned above, online gambling in the UK has been legal since 2005, in which all residents aged 18 and above are legally allowed to participate, while those aged 16 and above can participate in the National Lottery.

There are currently around 36.6 million gamblers in the UK, in which part of the main attraction of online games is that they’re developing significantly as a user experience. Instead of just being a gambling game, many online casino games now incorporate video gaming elements to make them more entertaining.

When looking at player specifics, online gamblers can be broken down into the following categories:

• 40% participate in regular sports betting.
• 37% play online slots.
• 15% play online table games.

India

Controversially, while gambling in India is illegal, people are allowed to participate in online gambling and, in fact, many people do. The gambling industry in India has seen a growth rate of 115% over the past 10 years, representing some significant growth.

Some of the most popular things to bet on in India include cricket and table games. The structure for online gambling laws in India are similar to that in Canada and the US, where each province has the jurisdiction to set their own gambling laws.

Australia

Online gambling activity in Australia has also seen positive growth in recent years. In fact, over the last 10 years, the industry has grown by over 30% – an impressive rate when compared to many other countries in the Australasia region.

The gross gambling yield per year is thought to be around $24 Million AU Dollars. One of the most popular types of online gambling is horse racing, which is one of the oldest legalized sports. Horse racing was legalized back in 1810, however it wasn’t until the 80’s that horse race betting was legalized.

Other popular forms of online gambling in Australia include table games, slots and other forms of sports betting.

Canada

According to data, over 75% of the Canadian population participate in online gambling. Canada is well known for its fairly recent gambling freedom, in which each region in Canada has the jurisdiction to create their own gambling laws.

Online gambling has been a rather grey area in the past, in which citizens could only participate in online gambling activities with a provider who was licensed with the local authorities in their region. That being said, many offshore providers have still provided their online casino services to Canadian citizens since they are not required to get a Canadian license to operate if they are physically located outside of Canada.

This hasn’t phased Canadian players though, considering the average Canadian player spends around $570 Canadian Dollars on online gambling each year.

Overall, while uptake of online gambling has been slower in some regions than it has in others, growth is positive. As technology continues to progress and become more accessible across the globe, more and more people are more easily able to access online gambling in which the industry is only set to get larger and more revolutionary than before.