Poker and online casinos: Players' favorite combination
Online poker and online casinos are two of the gambling market segments that have experienced the greatest growth in recent years. Specifically, since 2019, online gaming has continued to grow without pause. Among the reasons is technological development, which has enabled innovations such as virtual reality, creating an unprecedented level of immersion. Of course, the accessibility and convenience offered by online gaming also play a role — something that brick-and-mortar casinos simply cannot match.
In this article, we will look at the popularity that online poker and online casinos are gaining.
How much have online poker and casinos grown?
By 2023, approximately 100 million people were already playing online poker worldwide. This translates into a value exceeding 96 billion dollars for 2024. And things don't seem to stop there, as according to a report by ResearchAndMarkets.com, online poker will reach 283 billion dollars by 2032. As such, the global online poker market is expected to grow by 11.5% between now and 2030. In the case of online casinos, the global market size for 2023 was 60.63 billion dollars, while by 2028 it is expected to reach 103.74 billion, representing a compound annual growth rate of 11.34% over the next five years. At the European level, statistics suggest that Europe will be the continent experiencing the greatest growth in the online poker sector.
Turning to Spain, we can see that the country has one of the most active poker markets on the continent. For 2023, according to the report by the DGOJ, the GGR of gambling was over 1.236 billion euros, representing an increase of 28.38% compared to 2022. Analyzing the data, we can see that of this figure, over 620 million came from casinos and over 115 million specifically from poker. The data makes it clear: the majority of players gravitate toward online casinos and poker, segments that outperform others in the gaming market by a wide margin. In fact, based on what the same DGOJ report reveals, 11.84% of players in Spain in 2023 played only at casinos, and another 4.90% played only poker. The result? As we can observe from the lists provided by https://time2play.com/es/casinos, more and more online casinos available in Spain are offering online poker among their gaming options.
What lies behind this growth
But what has driven the growth of online poker and online casinos? Primarily, internet access. By 2022, 92% of the US population already had access to the internet. This, combined with the technological development of smartphones, has enabled the rise of online gambling in the market. Among all the technological advances, the impact of virtual reality stands out, as it allows for the simulation of environments, enabling players to interact with one another or play with live dealers.
To this must be added the legal changes being made by most countries, in response to growing social acceptance of gambling, which is increasingly becoming a reality rather than a utopian idea. Thus, both in Europe and across other continents, governments are building regulatory frameworks that, in addition to protecting the health of their citizens, allow for the enjoyment of this form of entertainment. Evidence of this can be seen in what has recently happened in Spain regarding advertising regulations. Of course, there is still much progress to be made in this regard, though it seems we are heading in the right direction.
Furthermore, if predictions prove correct and online poker and casinos grow as expected, they will become one of the most powerful economic drivers in the global market — provided, of course, that public bodies collaborate in making it happen. Even so, without looking too far into the future, the data and statistics make the current reality clear: online poker and casinos are the winning combination for players.