Online gambling is not just popular at online casinos and many of the games have found their way onto the biggest social networks on the internet. Social gaming is growing at a steady pace every year and according to recent reports from Research and Markets, the market is expected to be worth 17.4 billion by 2019.
The company is known for its international market research and the figure is based on the growing trend and also on the fact that the casino image has improved significantly over the last few years; something which is expected to get even better in the years to come.
More affordable smartphones
Another important factor to consider is the sales growth for smartphones and tablets, which translates to more activity on social networks while on the go. As new models get released, the older generations become more affordable and they have the necessary tech specs to support social gaming. About half of the time spent on social networks by most users is spent playing social games and social casinos are getting more and more popular.
According to the reports, the global market is expected to grow at a rate of 16.1% between 2023 and 2019.
Online gambling operators are looking for ways to turn the social gamers into real money customers at their online casinos and this has been more difficult than expected. While the games are pretty much the same and they follow the same rules, social network users normally enjoy the titles for different reasons, even if real money is often times involved.
Major social players
For example, the biggest social casino on Facebook is DoubleDown Casino and it has over 7 million likes and more than 100,000 people talking about it at any given time. Players can enjoy a variety of casino games here, all of which are free to play. Every player gets a certain amount of chips every day but there is also the option to buy more virtual chips for real money. However, it is not possible to change those chips back into money and withdraw the winnings from the casino.
Players simply enjoy the games for fun and since having more chips can mean higher stakes, they do have a certain importance so there is still a thrill of gambling, even if it is not with real money. Social gambling provides the advantage that it is easy to access and since a lot of players are already spending time on social networks, accessing the casinos is very easy.
Major casino operators like Caesars Entertainment, 888 Holdings, bwin.party and IGT (the owner of DoubleDown) have already made significant efforts to get on the social gaming market and with reports indicating an increase for the next few years, it is safe to say that they will continue their efforts.
Out of the millions of social users which access casinos and poker rooms on the major social networks, only a small percentage of them make to leap to real money casino games. However, the importance of being on the market is not just to attract more players but to have a richer offer and reach more users. Putting the brand on the radar in such a big industry can have great results further down the line, as long as the services are good.
Several major gambling operators have been having great success on social networks, with Paddy Power leading the charge. The Irish company has over 1.2 million likes on Facebook, while most of the big companies only have around 210,000. PokerStars and William Hill are not far behind, although the strategies used to become so popular are quite different.
PokerStars, the biggest online poker room in the world, won the hearts of social network users by combining quality services with known celebrities from different fields. Poker stars, sports legends and celebrities have been part of ads and have been seen wearing the famous red spade at different events.
Paddy Power went for the comedic route and did several amusing campaigns over the last year to make the brand more popular. This can also be seen in the over 250,000 followers on Twitter, compared to the average 50,000 for companies in the same field.
With the figures constantly improving, social gaming is becoming more and more involved in other industries, including iGaming.