From the hyper-competitive tables at GGpoker to the more social scene at Zynga Poker, plenty of poker apps saw a lot of activity last year. In fact, a 2020 report from The Business Research Company found that the online poker market had experienced a 43% growth since April last year, and much of the revenue came from mobile. Moreover, even before the pandemic, these poker apps were already very popular, boasting millions of downloads on Play Store.
But will this upward trend continue? The answer is yes—and here’s why.
Mobile gaming is on the rise
More than mobile poker, mobile gaming, in general, is on the rise. According to this market report on Businesswire, the global mobile gaming market is going to be worth $173 billion by 2025; this is a year-over-year growth rate of 11%. After all, people find it more convenient to play on a phone as this setup lets you play games on the go!
Furthermore, in our post Innovations Driving the Future of Mobile Gaming, we’ve also highlighted how technologies like VR and voice recognition have been improving the titles developed for the platform. For example, there’s a mixed reality poker app called Texas Hold’em Poker VR where you can “experience” live poker games.
There will always be new ways to enjoy mobile poker
Poker app developers have provided users with more ways they can enjoy the game on mobile, from offering different variants to integrating new features.
For example, while Texas Hold’em may be the most common variant offered in mobile poker, developers are increasingly looking to new variants to play. 888poker has recently added Omaha poker to their list of games—a variant that’s gaining a lot of traction in the industry at the moment. The biggest poker event in the world, the World Series of Poker, even added Omaha to their list of tournaments. According to this Omaha poker guide, the game is played with two extra hole cards and won by using exactly two hole cards and three community cards. This opens up the player to many combinations, making it extremely popular with people who like the extra challenge.
Meanwhile, BetMGM has introduced a lot of features into its poker app. People who play one-handed can now play poker in portrait mode, for instance. Home Poker lets you open multiple tables and play games simultaneously, and there are even social poker apps like PokerCam, which allows people to play face-to-face.
More states are regulating online poker
Unless they’re social poker games like Zynga Poker, poker apps need licenses to operate in a state. For example, if you’re physically based in Utah or Texas, you can’t play poker on real money apps like 888poker.
Fortunately, these strict poker regulations are slowly being lifted. Just this year, online poker apps like BetMGM Poker and PokerStars were able to operate in Michigan. West Virginia has also passed legislation to allow online poker providers to operate in the state. This is proof that online poker and, by extension, mobile poker, will continue to expand its reach in the coming years.
Whether it’s because of the growing interest in mobile games or the easing online poker regulations in the US, the future of mobile poker is looking bright. Perhaps in the next few months, we’ll see even more wins in the industry to indicate the growth of the market.
Note: This is a collaborative post with Charlie Adams. Fill out this form to learn more!
