What Is the Future of Online Poker?

  -   February 6th, 2012   
Posted in: Articles, Industry News, Offline Poker News, Players, Poker Rooms

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How Will Online Poker Change in the Coming Months?

Internet poker sites have only been around for a little over a decade, most of them are even younger than that. The industry is potentially very lucrative, representing hundreds of millions of dollars, and that’s not including slot gaming and other popular online casino gaming.

Changes to web-based poker play are inevitable. Here’s a look at a couple of changes just over the horizon that will have a huge impact on the way we play the game we love online.

Mobile Poker’s Coming Dominance

Look at Europe and Asia for an idea of the future of mobile use in America and other parts of the world. Many sites are already offering mobile gaming, putting your favorite poker games on your smartphone or other mobile device. Since this method of playing online poker has swelled considerably in recent months, expect more sites to jump into the mobile betting game. Industry insiders estimate that by 2016, more than half of the industry’s profits will come from mobile poker and mobile casino gaming.

More Internet on smartphones means more options for mobile gaming. Mobile poker apps are growing more sophisticated, with instant poker play, immediate access to your player account, and all the features you expect from traditional online poker, like hand histories, a full lineup of poker and gaming promotions and bonuses, and even similar graphics to what they’d get by downloading a traditional poker client.

Social Media & The Future of Online Poker

We know that Facebook game designer Zynga is looking for a partner to help them offer poker for cash on that popular social media site: this gamble will probably pay off. Facebook members are already pretty comfortable with spending real cash on Facebook games (look into Zynga’s profits for proof), and it’s a short leap from paying for game features to paying into a poker account that can potentially earn you ever more money.

Facebook won’t last forever. Any new social media venture, even ones that don’t exist yet, will likely have to consider whether or not to allow gambling on the site. Facebook used to be very anti-gambling, but Zynga’s attempts to partner up and host pay for play poker on Facebook is a sign that they would reconsider for the right price.

Graphics are Still King

Whether you like it or not, big changes are coming to the look of online poker and other gaming sites. Lots of sites and poker networks are pushing for even more innovations in the graphical environment of the online poker industry. The next big thing? A completely 3D gaming environment. PKR.com is leading the way in the push for 100% 3D graphics, and PKR.com is already known for their high-tech 3D poker gaming environment.

The future of online poker isn’t all that different from what we know today. No doubt, wagers will still be placed the traditional way, deposit bonuses will always be a part of the game, etc. But changes to HOW we play online poker or online slots are on the way, from new 3D graphics to full-fledged online casino gaming on your iPhone.

Tags: Asia, Europe, Online Poker, PKR

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