How many live casino brands are online? And why is market share decreasing but Gross Gaming Revenue & the number of new brands increasing? (Photo by kh92 Pixabay)
Note: We updated the ‘Live Dealer Brands’ list below on ’11 May 2022′
With the live casino industry’s Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) now worth a staggering € 6+ billion, new and existing iGaming brands are breaking into the niche. From just two major players in the industry since the pioneers of live dealer gaming, Microgaming and Evolution, brought live dealers via webcam to our screen in 2006, to today 21 March 2022, there are 30+ live casino brands Online—see the full list below.
Authentic Gaming, BetGames (formerly BetGames.tv), HollywoodTV, Lucky Streak, Vivo Gaming, BetConstruct, and Playtech also came into the market, and since these brands joined, they have been the main competition of the founders of this niche – Microgaming and Evolution. However, over the last 2 years, new brands are entering the niche at an unprecedented rate.
Some of the most recent iGaming companies to announce they will be venturing into the live dealer segment include CreedRoomz, Digitain, and BETER Live, while recent additions already offering live games include EGT Interactive, Swinnt, Stakelogic and On Air Entertainment.
The live casino niche continued push to take a slice of iGaming’s overall market share may slow down, but the deceleration in growth does not mean the overall worth of the ‘land-based to webcam’ vertical GGR is slowing down. On the contrary, GGR continues despite the prediction that its market share has in fact been in decline since 2019, according to an H2 Gambling Predicts news report.
To define iGaming’s market share, we need to break down the various verticals. Online poker, scratch cards, video poker, lottery, bingo, virtual table games, video slots, and live dealer games. Since 2019, when the vertical’s market share was 33.4%, it has dropped over consecutive years to 31.5% by 2021 and is predicted to report roughly a 30.8% market share at the end of 2022 when the official figures are in.
Nonetheless, revenue in the live casino sphere has markedly increased since the expected drop off in market share. In 2019, the peak year for live casino’s emergence, the total GGR for the vertical was € 4.48 billion. Comparatively, 2020’s market share was 32%, yet GGR rose to € 5.25 billion, then 2021 reported 31.5% market share and an increased GGR to € 5.25 billion, while 2022 forecasts 30.8% market share combined with a € 6.09 billion GGR.
GGR in Live Casino Continues to Rise: Figures show that live casino’s market share in iGaming will drop to 30.1%, but its GGR will be at its highest yet worth a staggering € 7.28. The growth in revenue is the key factor, as the drop off in live casino gaming’s market share is a typical trend for new technology entering any industry.
Why the Decline in Market Share & Increase in GGR + Live Casino Brands?
When new technology enters any industry and it becomes a defining factor in how the industry evolves, it usually begins with an upward surge before cooling down. If I were to give you a similar example of this, the best comparisons would be in the cryptocurrency sphere and game console industry.
- Crypto Example: New ICOs launch and issue a cryptocurrency, demand is high and market share inevitably rises. At some point, that crypto will stabilise and then a slight drop off will ensue. Although we are talking about a much more volatile market with crypto. Of course, the live casino market does not have such a volatile environment.
- Game Consoles Example: When the Xbox game console came out, it superseded PlayStation and almost pushed Nintendo out of the market. However, the market stabilized, the Xbox craze subsided as it become the new norm, and now these brands tussle for market share.
In iGaming, the live dealer casino software developers of other games are only just learning how to compete with the live dealer market. This especially applies to virtual casino game developers. With the introduction of live casinos, table gaming via webcam is admittedly a far more exciting prospect versus virtual table games. Yet the market has adjusted with Real Dealer Studios offering RNG CGI table games and even live casino brands live Evolution are investing in 3D rendering virtual table games.
Of course, there are also table game players that tried live casino and have gone back to virtual casino table gaming where there are no time limits. On top of this, it is easier to claim bonus offers for virtual tables. Therefore, we are now seeing the live casino iGaming market share stabilise.
New Brands Target Rising GGR & Create New Competition for Live Casino Market Share
Now there is a brand-new market share within the live casino iGaming vertical. Well, I say brand new, it’s been there since Evolution and Microgaming kick-started the scene in 2006. It really become brand new when other competitors saw the potential of live casino gaming. It was a few years later when Playtech, BetGames, Vivo Gaming, Ezugi, and BetConstruct Live really made this niche competitive. That was just 7 brand names, but today that number is close to 35.
Since the industry’s GGR shows no sign of slowing down, and the overall iGaming industry’s growth is increasing into new markets such as the USA and Canada, while new regions are coming online, such as increased wealth in LATAM and Africa creating emerging iGaming markets here, we have seen a flurry of new live dealer brands enter the live casino market. Check out the full list below.
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