The average American spends 4.5 hours on their smartphone. This could be reading news on X (formerly known as Twitter), checking bank accounts, sending emails, replaying to messages, or playing a game. In the 24-hour day worth of time, whichmight not seem much, but once sleep, work, and any other extracurricular activities are considered, those four and a half hours do seem a lot of the waking day. Whether this is considered a lot, or a little is not up for debate here.
The fact is the smartphone is just one of the more prominent examples of the digital movement currently going on around us.While most human beings are fully accustomed to operating a smartphone and are aware of its enhanced capabilities, there are other sectors of society that are also being heavily affected by the digital influence. Digitalization is enacting change in the following industries:
• Manufacturing
• Healthcare
• Education
• Retail
• Finance
• Entertainment
• Media
• Communications
• Gaming
The point is that the digital influence is leaving a handprint on much of society. And the reason we decided to mention entertainment as well as gaming is because the gaming industry in particular is benefiting massively from advancements in technology and software.
Rise of iGaming
While many sectors have received a digital-imprinted makeover, new branches of business have emerged because of more time spent online by Americans. The 4.5-hour average might not increase, but more time might be devoted to this particular activity in the future.
iGaming, which encompasses online casino play and sports betting, has enjoyed a monumental rise in the U.S, with online gambling becoming more recognized and better regulated. More importantly, iGaming operators are taking full advantage of the online space and potential within it.
Connect with the World
One of the main reasons iGaming operators have managed to establish themselves in the digital world is the ability to traverse virtual boundaries. Regardless of whether a VPN is involved or not, some online casinos can be accessed from overseas locations. This ultimately comes down to the licensing and geo-blocks put in place by a particular licensing body. Some USA casinos at the Daily Star for example are accessible for players in the United Kingdom.
This is especially relevant due to restrictions put in place over the past years in the UK, limiting play on certain online casino games. Due to each country and market implementing their unique legislation around online gambling, if a market allows it at all, the ability to shop around other online casinos gains even more meaning for players that are not satisfied with rules in their region. For U.S online casinos, the ability to reach out to players around the world is a huge revenue driver and gives them an automatic international presence.
Ever Changing Business Landscape
The current era is an exciting one for online businesses in the U.S. Not only iGaming, but traditional gaming on consoles and the increasingly popular Esports are examples of other branches of the gaming industry gaining more acclaim amongst Americans. Online gaming with players all over the world on popular titles such as Call of Duty and Rocket League is being played by more gamers by the year.
With regards to Esports, that division of sports is designed to thrive in the online world. With purely computer-basedcompetition at live events taking place all over the world that are streamed on online platforms such as Twitch and YouTube, Esports is potentially next in line to take the online world by storm. We are yet to witness the full influence of digitalization, including the impact of Artificial Intelligence. What we have seen so far though, is an online space that is getting progressively busier with new business.