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There’s no denying the popularity of the gaming industry in the UK, which is estimated to be a size of £6.9 billion. Online games dominate the market and people are heavily drawn to play slot games, which alone account for £2.9 billion for the industry according to the UK’s Gambling Commission.
There are plenty of supporting reasons that have enabled slot gaming to become popular:
- Mobile accessibility – Slot games have grown fast as they became increasingly easier to access through mobile phones. Back in the day, to play a game, people had to step out of the house but now these games are available with a single tap of the screen.
- Simultaneous gaming – There’s no waiting time like at brick-and-mortar gaming venues anymore either. This means that multiple players can play the same game simultaneously, increasing the potential for industry expansion like never before.
- Faster internet – Importantly, online gaming has expanded fast because of supportive infrastructure, a key element for which is better internet penetration and faster speeds. Supported by telecom companies like BT, Sky and Virgin, the process of playing online games has become easier and more enjoyable.
- Safer payments – The payment infrastructure has improved vastly over the years too. Not only are online payments easier to make as such, service providers like Paypal add an additional layer of security and privacy for players as well.
The development of these ways was important for the fast growth of online slot games. But the games themselves have been made more attractive in various ways:
- Easy – Besides It helps that slot games are made to be easy to understand. The instructions are clear and don’t need to be memorised beforehand. So they make convenient entry points into recreational casino gaming, allowing even novices to play slot games and possibly even win big.
- Variation – Gaming companies on their part have also added to the customer experience by allowing them a fair bit of variation. From anime to popular TV and films, these games offer a range of experiences to players.
There are estimated to be 15,000 slot games currently available in the UK market. For example, online gaming provider Rainbow Riches Casino has over 100 slot titles.
People can choose to play slots from a range of titles like “Prometheus: Titan of Fire” to “Fruity Burst 2” on the casino. It was established only in 2019 but is already seen as a rising star in online slots.
- Options – The presence of numerous other online casinos that allow gamers to play slots has also helped in cultivating the industry. When people have tried to play slots once at a casino, they are more likely to do so elsewhere as well.
The leader in UK’s online casinos is 888 Casinos, which has been in the business for 20 years. It is the biggest of them all, boasting of 945 online slots and is also the Winner of the Casino Operator award for 2021.
Owned by the FTSE 100 company Entain, PartyCasino is another big online casino, with over 1,000 slot games to choose from. Mr Vegas, which offers a good welcome bonus and a user-friendly platform is another noteworthy one, with a huge 3,121 slots to choose from.
- Promotions – The casino industry in the UK has also innovated with bonuses and promotions that can keep customers hooked. There are loyalty bonuses for regular players as well as other incentives like free spins, deposit match bonuses and reward points.
- Jackpot lure – Then there is the possibility of winning the jackpot. Age of the Gods from Playtech is a good example, which offers the potential for winning 10,000 times the original deposit.
Since the industry is regulated by the Gambling Commission. It’s also a relatively safe way to be a player in the casino industry.
It’s no surprise then that the number of online gamers in the UK is big. According to one estimate, 40 million people participate in online casinos, which is more than half the population of the country.
In fact, remote casinos are the most popular form of casino gaming in the country, with a share of 31.7% of the total gross gambling yield (GGY). This shows how accessibility, ease and innovation have allowed the growth of the segment.
The popularity of online casinos goes hand in hand with that of slots, which dominate games with an unrivalled 72.5% share of GGY. Roulette follows a distant second at 13.2% and Black Jack at 4.9%. Slot gaming is showing no signs of slowing down either, with an increase of 22.4% during the year.
In sum, we have a slot gaming industry whose popularity is only on the rise in the UK. Not only does it already have the most significant share in online casinos, but it’s also growing in double-digits.
This increase has come about in a number of ways. Not the least of these is the complete ease with which online slot games are made available through optimisation for both mobiles and computers.
Better internet provision and online payments add to the convenience. And with all the gaming under the Gambling Commission’s ambit, it’s safer than ever before.
It’s to online casino providers’ credit that they have provided many variations to the online slot gaming experience, with innovations in bonuses and loyalty rewards offering a great incentive. It’s clear that online slot gaming is only set to grow from here.
