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State of Play’s TL;DR
- An industry interview with Casino.org says the US online casino market is being reshaped.
- Regulation, sweepstakes growth, faster identity checks, mobile access, and early AI use are all contributing to online casino changes.
The US online casino market is evolving beyond traditional real-money platforms, with sweepstakes and social casinos, faster verification tools, and artificial intelligence all playing a larger role, according to comments from Casino.org’s Alexander Korsager in an interview with iGaming Expert.
The interview highlights a basic constraint that still defines the market: Only a handful of US states currently allow real-money online casino gambling. Against that backdrop, other formats have expanded more broadly.
Sweepstakes and social casinos are gaining ground
Korsager said sweepstakes and social casinos are available “right across the country” and are now larger than the real-money online casino segment in both value and coverage. He also said software providers increasingly supply the same games to both real-money operators and dual-currency platforms.
That growth is also drawing scrutiny. Some states are trying to push back against sweepstakes casinos, and that operators could respond by exploring alternatives such as parimutuel casinos like Horseplay.
Korsager summed up the broader trend by saying that “the market adapts to what is possible,” pointing to the way legislation and technology continue to shape the sector.
Mobile access, KYC, and payments remain central issues
Beyond regulation, the interview points to mobile gaming, 5G, and faster broadband as major reasons online casino products are more accessible than before. On the operations side, Know Your Customer checks and other identity verification steps can now happen in what the article describes as virtual real time.
One friction point remains: payout speeds. While onboarding and deposits have become faster, the article says withdrawals still lag behind.
For players, that means the user experience may keep improving on the front end even as one of the most important parts of the transaction cycle — getting paid out — has not advanced at the same pace.
AI is already in use, with live dealer questions still unresolved
The interview says AI is already being used in customer service chatbots, verification checks, and parts of game design. Korsager also pointed to AI’s possible role in live dealer products, saying it could help operators reduce staffing and studio costs.
At the same time, he cautioned that acceptance is not guaranteed: “AI dealers solve that issue, but it remains to be seen if they can fulfil customer expectations.”
Based on reporting by Charlie Horner for iGaming Expert.
