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Metaverse & online gambling predictions for 2022 - The bright future

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2022 and the new technologies and necessary developments that await the online gambling industry are more than exciting.


With the advent of 2022 comes a fresh and hopeful look at new developments in the area of how we view reality (could it be augmented or virtual), future technologies such as the metaverse, interesting new uses for the blockchain and non-fungible tokens, online gambling regulation and eSports betting.

We have gathered the insights, opinions and best guesses from across the internet, including business owners, creators, entertainers and iGaming gurus to bring you some of the new year’s hottest takes on the topic.

Global gambling regulation will continue

The successful licensing and regulation of online gambling has been one of the best things to ever happen to the industry. With the work done in the areas of compliance to ensure not only financially sound business growth but also the protection of at-risk players in areas like the UK, Sweden, and the US we can expect territories with monopolies and outdated gambling regulations such as Norway and Finland to come to the party.

We will begin to see a state-wide regulation increase across the continental US as smaller states simply adopt the regulations implemented in Pennsylvania and other successful regions. With a proven track record for safety and revenue generation, these newly regulated states will benefit by bypassing the teething stages and adopting fully functional licensing practices.

Compliance and safer gambling practices take centre stage

To support this growth in licensing and regulation there will be an even stricter approach to compliance and safer gambling protocols. While online gambling is seen as a fantastic new source of revenue and licensing now serves to keep casino spending in-house rather than see it vanish offshore, protecting at-risk players will supersede it all.

This need will see the rise of platforms and service providers such as Rightlander who manage global compliance practices for online casinos and betting sites that simply do not yet have the resources or skills to manage the process internally.

There will also be an increased need to interface directly with problem gambling institutions to offer players access to counselling and support 24/7 at their point of need, rather than sending away from the casino to a third-party website or support centre for responsible gambling.

The cryptocurrency boom continues

When Bitcoin took the world by storm most people only saw the chance to make money for doing nothing but owning this ambiguous new virtual asset. The deep thinkers and futurists looked beyond Bitcoin and saw the chance to change the world through creating decentralised transacting that gave power over the currency and the economy back to the people.

When governments and mainstream banking institutions stopped panicking, they saw the potential to create safer, cheaper (to run), more efficient digital banking processes using the blockchain.

Both parties are correct.

The future will see the rise of country-owned and operated stablecoins that will begin to replace paper and metal currency. America, China, Russia and even South Africa are all researching and developing virtual replacements for their local coinage.

At the same time, cryptos like Ethereum, Dogecoin, Litecoin and others are becoming more widely accepted at online casinos, betting sites, and other leading e-commerce sites making them a functional yet decentralised part of the world’s economy.

The music industry bangs the NFT drum

As an offshoot of the global acceptance of the blockchain as a secure hosting platform for all forms of online and even offline businesses is the meteoric rise in the use of NFTs (non-fungible tokens).

What began as an interesting experiment to provide provable ownership of trading cards grew into the massive NFT market we see today. It began with cards for Magic The Gathering, evolved to include well-known collectables brands such as the Garbage Pail Kids and then moved into the sports card arena. In 2022 buying the NFT trading card of Derrick Rose mid layup will set you back a cool $1 million!

We all remember Evolution's debut of the NFT Megaways slot with Red Tiger so we can only excitingly await what is more to come in 2022 from gambling providers.

However, this is not the hottest new market for NFTs, surprisingly it is not a visual medium that is showing the most growth, rather it is the music industry.

Songwriters, vocalists, and musicians are using the blockchain and non-fungible tokens to own, sell and distribute their content. They can now prove ownership of samples, create their audiences and in so doing shift the power balance away from Big Media and put the future of the industry into the hands of the people who power it.

Gambling live streams become mainstream

We are already comfortable with Online Slots, Table Games and All Casino Games being hosted on the blockchain. One of the main benefits to date has been that all blockchain-based gambling is Provably Fair, and of course, can be enjoyed using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

With the ongoing regulation and licensing of online gambling around the world, it is becoming an accepted form of entertainment. In 2022 and beyond we can expect it to reach new audiences in unexpected ways.

In the same way that video game streaming became a standalone mega-industry worth billions of dollars each year so pundits are predicting that gambling streams will see the same growth drawing audiences who simply want to watch for big wins and participate by tipping the player without gambling themselves.

This will create a new wave of professional online gamblers who not only have global audiences who watch them play but also supports them through tips, donations, and subscriptions.

The new wave of eSports stars and betting

Over the past few years, eSports has seen unparalleled growth and development, this is primarily because the current crop of sports fans is the gamer kids from the late 80s and 90s. This generation and their children grew up loving gaming and have been at the forefront of supporting live gaming streaming on platforms like Twitch.

As this demographic and those following in their footsteps become the income-earning adults of the future, they will not share the hesitancy of older sports bettors when it comes to betting on their favourite eSports player or team.

The blockchain creates a social economy

In 2022 we will see the launch of the blockchain-based social sites that have been in development over the past few years. While there are several currently live such as SocialX, Sapien, Steemit and others, it will be the adoption of this technology by Facebook, TikTok, Instagram or even a new mainstream social site that will shine a light on the benefits of this type of social media platform.

These platforms offer user anonymity, access to content normally restricted by licensing and broadcasting agreements can offer casino games regardless of where the user lives, can facilitate cryptocurrency market places and offers its users the chance to earn crypto just by using the platform on their preferred device.

Having a paid-to-play environment where not only are you engaging online as you would elsewhere, but you are also sharing in the cryptocurrency mining using your online activity is going to be a major driving force behind much of the innovation moving forward.

Who owns the Metaverse will surprise you

The current media space is filled with Facebook banging the metaverse drum, however, when it comes to creating an integrated online world filled with games, music, and social interaction they are not the market leaders.

What will matter in creating this unified digital-life experience is access to content and server capacity. In this area, the leaders are companies like Amazon and Apple. They have brand equity, global data streaming capacity, music, films, and developers who think out of the box and innovate across markets.

Facebook is looking to draw your attention but the companies with the best products and who are willing to work in concert with others will win the virtual day!

What more is yet to come to the iGaming and gambling world, we are more excited to know! Follow with us the journey of 2022 and together we'll embrace the new!

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