Predictions Regarding the Social Casino
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Over the past several years, the social casino games industry has witnessed different levels of growth, with their peak of popularity being at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Stratview Research report, by 2026, the global social games market is expected to reach a revenue of 8.2 billion dollars at a CAGR of over 6.7%. For comparison, in 2020, this number was 5.6 billion dollars.
Regardless of all global changes and transitions, such casinos have remained a convenient and cost-effective alternative to physical gaming venues. In addition, they have brought a new community of gamers to the online gambling sector. This perfectly shows why free-play casinos, along with real money gambling platforms, continue to be in demand in top countries with the highest gambling rates, like the USA, Canada, the UK and New Zealand.
But what are the predictions and future trends related to the social casino field? We have touched on this topic in our article. Thus, let’s have a look.
Social Casino Games: Brief Overview
Before going down to our main topic, let‘s first understand what exactly social casinos and games are. In a few words, social casinos are online platforms where you can play free-to-play games without investing real cash. As you can guess from the name itself, these games are normally available on different social media platforms.
This means you can enjoy the thrill of gambling entertainment on social networks without the risk of losing real money. This also means you can‘t win or gain any real money prizes.
The most common games you can play in social casinos cover slots, bingo, poker, scratch-and-win lotteries, multiplayer card games, roulette and blackjack.
Who Engages in Social Casino Games
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If we take a look at Martin’s research in 2014, we can see that the overall number of social casino gamers worldwide is around 170 million. The average player engaged in these games is a 40-year-old middle-class woman (Superdata, 2016), and women make up over 2/3 of social casino users.
Top Social Casino Providers and Games
When it comes to the biggest players in this segment, Zynga is one of the first names to mention. Its poker gaming app, Texas HoldEm Poker, is still among the most popular titles mobile players like to play. The best proof of this is the in-app 88 million dollars revenue Zynga Poker grossed in 2022. You can find this game on Facebook.
Other major leaders in social casino gaming include Moon Active as well as Playtika, which, according to Statista, is the leading publisher based on market share. There are also multiple emerging companies in this sector, such as SciPlay, DoubleDown Interactive and Huuuge Games.
As for the most popular gaming apps based on revenue, the top list covers Bingo Blitz, Coin Master, and Jackpot Party Casino Slots. For example, Coin Master managed to generate around 61.6 million dollars in IAP revenue as of April 2023. The most downloaded gaming apps in the same period of time were RummyCircle, Coin Master and Higgs Domino Island. And the most popular payment app was the NAB App.
The Impact of Social Casinos in Real-Money Gambling
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According to the 2016 report by Kim and colleagues, approximately 26% of social casino players were found to try online gambling in the six-month follow-up. And this is considering that they have never tried real-money gaming before, engaging in social casino games.
If we project this data to the total number of social casino gamers, we can see that an impressive 42 million people may potentially switch to real cash gambling in a short period of time.
Due to the fact that players engaging in social casino games don’t expect real-money earnings, such casinos can become a gold mine of data for gambling operators. To be more precise, social casinos provide critical insights into crossover games, loyalty promotions, and players’ habits before this information is apparent in real-cash casino games. Thus, gambling providers can utilize this data to make well-weighted changes on their platforms.
In addition, social casino platforms can become a great base for potential partnerships like gambling ads and marketing campaigns. They can also provide a network of growing customer lists.
What Future Holds for Social Casino Games: Key Prospects
That said, are social casino games a good or bad thing? If we look at the question fairly, then it carries both positive and negative meanings.
For example, social casinos can serve as a smooth gateway to real-money gambling and negatively affect players’ gaming behaviours. Moreover, it can also increase the number of people with excessive and problem gambling issues. This can be proved by the 2012 report of Parke and colleagues, who found that over 58.3% of players seeking gambling treatment have been introduced to real money games through social casinos.
On the other hand, social casino gaming can be used for the opposite effect. For example, people with excessive gambling signs can reduce the harm through free-to-play games, which help to control their gaming behaviours.
In addition, social casino platforms create a space for users to connect, interact, and build relationships. They also give gamers an opportunity to share various tips and strategies and allow them to have fun without the risk of losing money.
Thus, whether or not social casinos are harmful or beneficial largely depends on the motivation and goals of the players themselves.