Internet Dominating Gambling Trends

12/13/2012 : INTERNET DOMINATES GAMBLING TRENDS FOR 2013
 
Spectrum's annual assessment shows the growing influence of internet and mobile channels
 
The independent research and professional services company Spectrum Gaming Group has released its ninth annual list tracking 21 leading trends for the forthcoming year in the gambling industry…and internet and mobile features prominently in almost half of its predictions.
 
2013 is likely to be another tough year in the United States, with growing competition between individual states for the gamblers' dollars.
 
Among the company's internet and mobile related forecasts are:
 
Age-verification and geolocation software will become critically important as more lottery and gaming jurisdictions enter the online space. Providers that can best demonstrate reliability, accuracy and ability to inhibit fraud and errors will be in particularly high demand.
 
Internet and mobile based social networking and electronic gaming will make further, behind-the-scenes steps toward a convergence that could, at some point, be the "next big thing" in gambling.
 
Law enforcement on internet-sweepstakes cafes will be more intense at state level. States will move faster to either eliminate or regulate Internet/sweepstakes cafes recognising them either as financially harmful or a revenue source.
 
More lotteries will face pressure to privatise or bring in private management, as the sector simultaneously moves toward a greater online presence.
 
The convergence of traditional gaming and state lotteries will accelerate, in large part due to the prospect of Internet gaming.
 
In tribal gambling the debate on opening up the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act for Internet gambling purposes will intensify as Native American dip their toes into Internet gaming with free-play poker sites.
 
States will feel pressure from tribal operators to rescind or renegotiate exclusivity provisions in compacts as state governments pursue online gambling through state lotteries.
 
Online gambling companies will seek bricks-and-mortar properties in certain states to gain a licensing foothold for Internet operations.
 
The convergence of social gaming and online gambling will continue, creating new competitors and putting pressure on regulators to oversee the marketing and implementation of social gaming.
 
Tribal operators, large and small, will seek a visible presence in online gambling.