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Online gambling is one of the fastest growing segments of the digital economy. From 2020 to 2025, the global market will grow from $58bn to $110bn, surpassing streaming and online shopping. The player here is not a spectator, but a participant in the process, influencing the outcome.  This attracts the attention of developers, who use analytics and behavioural scenarios to anticipate user actions and keep their attention.

Gamification has long gone beyond entertainment. Behavioural templates used in iGaming are being actively implemented in fintech, education and even dating applications. https://500rules.com/ showcases dozens of such mechanics – from simple to neural-networked. This is no longer just a game, but an environment in which everything is organised in such a way that a person wants to continue the session – and does so unconsciously.

New Players – Who’s Entering the Market

The iGaming industry is no longer owned by large corporations. In 2025, small teams, independent developers and decentralised projects are entering the market. The barrier to entry has become lower, but the requirements for technical expertise have increased.

Many startups run their own microplatforms on turnkey software solutions. Such systems contain everything they need: registration, payment modules, support for game providers and an administrative panel. The cost of the basic assembly is from $20-30 thousand, and the rent of servers, licences and gateways costs another $5-10 thousand. As a result, a project is launched that is not inferior in terms of a set of functions to the big brands, but is adapted to a narrow audience.

A separate category is Web3 casinos without centralised management, where decisions are made through DAOs (decentralised autonomous organisations). Players who own tokens of the project can vote for changes in the rules, introduction of new games and bonus mechanics. A good example is the Edgeless project running on the Ethereum blockchain, which demonstrates an open source random number generator (RNG) code. There are few such projects, but they form a niche where transparency is valued over advertising.

The lowering of the technical threshold has provided access to the market for people from different fields: marketers, crypto-traders, former streamers. They create small but survivable platforms with a strong community. Their goal is not scale, but audience retention through fine-tuning of mechanics and competent content presentation.

Changes in Player Behaviour

The players of 2025 are not the same audience that casinos were gathering a decade ago. In recent years, both preferences and style of interaction with the sites have changed noticeably. Classic online casino games – roulette, baccarat, poker – remain in collections, but no longer attract users. Their share by time has decreased to 12-14% of total traffic, while in 2020 it exceeded 25%.

The new generation, especially users under 30, are choosing a different pace. Popularity has shifted dramatically to the side:

• Crash games with instant results (Aviator, JetX, Spaceman);
• Game scenarios with elements of random drop (loot-mechanics);
• Live games with the camera on and animators running the session in real time.

According to SoftSwiss and EveryMatrix, the average session length for 18-29 year old users has dropped from 19 minutes to 11 minutes, but the frequency of logins per day has nearly doubled. Players are logging in more often, spending less time and seeking quick results. There has been a decline in interest in card games – they are predominantly opened by players over 40 and users with a traditional betting profile.

Tgra is now seen as an impulsive action, akin to scrolling through social media videos. To keep attention, casinos are forced to shorten animations, remove unnecessary screens and simplify choices, otherwise the player simply closes the tab.

The Age of Individual Gaming

The year 2025 has finally cemented the shift from universal to personalised interfaces. Almost every major casino is connected to AI that doesn’t just advise on something, but customises the game to suit the individual – from buttons to the pace of events.

If previously bonuses and promotions were the same for everyone, now the algorithm adapts them in real time. The system analyses behaviour: betting speed, frequency of deposits, types of preferred games, risk level. On the basis of this, patterns are built:

• Tailored bonus offers (e.g. a cashback boost on your favourite genre only);
• Warnings when there is a sudden increase in activity or uncharacteristic behaviour;
• Automatically adjust time and amount limits, especially for new players.

Artificial intelligence is involved in the distribution of visual content. On the same gambling platform, two players can see a different set of banners, games in a different order and different interface presentation – from the colour scheme to the scrolling speed. Such mechanics have been implemented, in particular, by SoftGamings, Pragmatic Solutions and several decentralised open source projects.

Individualisation also works on the side of self-control. A player can be prompted to pause, hide certain categories and restrict access to crash games – all this not manually, but at the initiative of the system. Similar tools are being used in Scandinavian countries, and are increasingly being implemented in international casinos in 2025.

Final Block – Not Forecasts, but Scenarios

In the coming years, the gambling market will go in one of three directions. Which scenario will prevail depends on the decisions of regulators, the behaviour of players and the speed of technological adaptation.

The first option is liberalisation. More and more countries are switching to a “soft” model of regulation, relying on transparency and taxes. An example is Lithuania, which after reforms increased budget revenues by 33% in just one year. This attracts local gambling operators and reduces the share of the grey segment.

In the second scenario, cryptocurrency will dictate the terms of the game. Casinos switch to USDT, TRON, anonymous wallets and smart contracts. Licences are replaced by DAO-structures, and project management is replaced by tokenholder voting. Such sites are already operating, but their risks are related to blocking and distrust on the part of new users.

The third way is to increase control. Casinos restrict access, impose strict limits and require documents at the entrance. This model works in Germany and the Netherlands. But there is a side effect: an exodus of players to crypto and offshore segments.

 

Gamble Responsibly. You must be 21 years old or older to gamble. If you or someone you know has a problem with gambling help is available at 1-800-GAMBLER.