A seemingly never ending struggle for supremacy accompanies expansion aspirations on a global scale as gambling incumbents look to secure a podium position across key jurisdictions.
However, this doesn’t just concern the scramble that goes hand-in-hand with newly regulated markets. Established regions continue to provide plentiful opportunities through a reinforced foothold year-on-year.
In addition to looking at the current standing of established markets and potential of those emerging, Ataur Rosul Abeer, Senior Sales Manager at Slotegrator, also delves into the dilemma of tightening regulation, niche gaming segments, key trends and more.
iGaming Expert: If we first look at the more established markets with the global gambling landscape, which of these do you expect to strengthen their position throughout 2025?
Ataur Rosul Abeer: More established markets that we know, UK, Spain, Italy, Kenya, Canada, Germany, Brazil, will probably strengthen their positions with every year. The UK is the biggest gambling market so far, there is no reason to think it wouldn’t grow further.
Such experienced countries have their regulations for many years and know what to expect and how to adapt to the changing world – cryptocurrencies, new game types, tax policies, responsible gaming measures.
We are also focused on Africa: South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria; we expect this market to strengthen in future. Latin America also keeps the positions, it will most probably be among the most interesting markets in 2025.
iGX: From here, it would be logical to look at emerging markets. Where do you see the greatest potential lying with this regard and why?
ARA: We were following the shaping of the Brazilian regulation for years. Now, when the laws have finally entered into force, we are expecting great potential there.
The regulatory framework might still be adjusted there, based on the first year experience some rules could possibly be tightened or tax rates could grow.
However Brazil will boom massively. It has already issued over 40 licenses, as was reported in February, and the year just started.
iGX: Phrases such as ‘next big thing’ and ‘untapped potential’ have long been used when discussing African markets. Do you envisage any significant developments across the continent?
ARA: Africa is developing and attracting more attention every year. Internet penetration is growing (the number of internet users is expected to reach 964 million by 2029); the population is highly interested in sports and therefore sport betting.
Besides, most of the population is young, people mainly use mobile phones to access the internet, therefore mobile connection numbers are very high, mobile payments platforms gain popularity (like M-Pesa in Kenya), and the cultural background makes the population very tolerant to gambling activities of different types.
About ¾ of the population of South Africa, for instance, has participated in gambling activities at least once. Africa has a huge iGaming potential and high demand among local demography.
iGX: Despite the many prospects of growth, it may not all be good news on a worldwide basis. Tightened regulation is being witnessed across numerous jurisdictions. Do you see this continuing to be the case, and what major implications could this have?
ARA: Regulations in various markets tend to change depending on every market’s demand or challenges. Tightening laws are one of the trends at the moment, it’s true, if you check the industry news section on our website you’ll see most of the latest posts start with ‘ban’, ‘tightening’, or ‘raising taxes’.
This happens with more established markets that have experience with the industry, those that are just emerging, on the other hand, legalise gambling.
This case will most probably continue. We can only recommend getting licensed, introducing responsible gambling practices, and checking games providers’ certificates. If you’re unsure how to act, contact our team and get a consultation about regulations in different countries and solutions to operate there. After all, a healthy industry is in the common interest.
However there are also cases when authorities loosen the rules like when Bulgaria decided to exclude social media platforms and influencers from the gambling advertising law. Italy is reviewing its gambling advertising law right now, we believe the ban will be lifted, or at least eased.
iGX: There’s been a lot of talk of niche gaming segments of late. While slots will continue to be the dominant online casino leader, can we see any other vertical become a credible challenge across any specific markets?
ARA: Indeed, we can say that slots are a long-liver of the industry. Classics also includes card games, table games, these verticals evolve with adding new mechanics and themes, covering both, conservative and curious audiences.
At the moment we notice a great worldwide rise of virtual sports and crash games. We can’t predict whether these games will compete with slots in popularity, but they have all chances to become stable alternatives.
iGX: What key trends do you believe will be the major talking points and will shape the industry through 2025?
ARA: We believe we’ll discuss all the same technological trends that we have from 2024 and share experiences on the best practices. Social gambling and social casinos with in-app purchases will keep being on top. Hybrid payments with fiat and cryptocurrencies, NFT-based gambling and NFT rewards, and AI will be in the spotlight.
The betting market will discuss microbetting — small event-based bets — and bets on political events, weather, and reality TV shows. We will also discuss super apps that include betting, casino games, esports, and social features
New regulations, and tightening laws also draw attention of the gambling community.
We released two downloadable materials on this topic recently, you can find them on our website in the Academy section. We believe that technology is the most active driver of today’s gambling and betting, as well as changing demography.
Modern players like to socialise, try new mechanics and themes, and use cryptocurrencies and play on mobile phones for convenience. There is no main trend that will dominate the market. Let’s see what new ideas and technologies 2025 will bring us.
