Annual mobile wagers set to increase sixfold to USD 60 billion in 2018

The research claims the primary driver of the increase will be the legalisation of selected online gambling services in the previously untapped US market, which is expected to see a raft of new launches in the next five years.

‘Mobile Gambling: Casinos, Lotteries and Betting 2013-2018’ claims that successful mobile launches in US markets like Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware has prompted other states to begin legislating online gambling, with services optimised for mobile from the outset.

Globally operators have been spurred to develop mobile casino solutions following the success of free-to-play casino-style games which, although they do not serve as direct competition for real-money sites, have shown how immersive games such as slots and poker can be on mobile devices.

Lotteries were also found to be keen to expand into the mobile market according to Juniper; with report author Siân Rowlands claiming that “lack of competition in the lottery space has meant that there has been little incentive to innovate. Realistically, only if retail outlet ticket sales slump will providers be incentivised to push distribution through online and mobile channels”.

The full report is available via the Juniper Research website.