News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Mon. Sept. 13, 2021: The global gambling market is growing rapidly and, as it turns out, emerging markets are key contributors. Online gambling, in particular, has seen an upsurge that has exceeded expectations in many ways.
Latin America is currently one of the most lucrative emerging online gambling markets. Its residents have access to an ever-increasing selection of online casino games. From online slots to tables games and even poker, there is a lot to choose from. All they will need is a solid platform like bovada which is legit.
Poker stands out for many things. It is a popular casino game with a rich history and a very impressive growth trajectory. Not only has the vertical survived and overcome lots of challenges but it also continues to impress. That said, it is only logical that the game of poker is also making waves in Latin America.
So, what are the factors pushing the growth of poker in Latin America?
Economy and Demographics
When we say that Latin America is an emerging market, this extends well beyond just gambling. Generally speaking, the economies of many of the countries in the continent are growing fast. In addition to accounting for nearly 10 percent of the global GDP, the market population is expected to grow to over 640 million. For gambling, this comes to as many as 300 million potential customers. In addition to that, there is an evolving workforce population that is slowly fostering the emergence of a robust middle class.
How does that affect online poker in Latin America? Well, it all boils down to the target market. In this case, that is the adult population with solid purchasing power. They can not only be able to buy into poker games but also invest in devices that will make that possible. Online poker is more accessible and popular than ever before in the region. That is because the socio-economic situation allows it.
The Power of Mainstream Appeal from Places Like the US
While our sights are set on the Latin American poker market, we cannot ignore the influence that other markets have had on the continent. This is especially with regards to how the games are promoted. Case in point, the United States is home to some of the world’s leading online poker operators. These operators also happen to operate some of the top 10 poker sites in Latin America.
Thanks to such things as tournaments, poker has been portrayed as a luxurious game to play. Everyone of legal age can participate though since the poker operators always have freerolls and promotions. Popular tournaments included the World Series of Poker (WSOP). This has sparked a lot of interest in the game and is pushing it further towards global recognition. A good way of illustrating this is by looking at the rising number of professional poker players in Latin America. Moreover, there are now even region-specific poker tournaments like the Latin American Poker Tour.
The Underlying Infrastructure
Online poker, like other forms of online gambling in Latin America, benefits immensely from the expansion of networks and the proliferation of mobile technology. Telecom operators in the regions have invested in network coverage expansion. This has, in turn, fostered the growth of mobile usage which is great for online casino operators.
Poker is largely a social game, a trait that it retains even in the online space. Through such things as tournaments and poker events, people still get to interact. Through the improved networks and the powerful yet affordable mobile devices, poker players in Latin American can do just that. This has given online poker constant exposure thus fueling its impressive growth trajectory.
The Legal Factor
Now, Latin America is a vast market and everything is not going to be streamlined. This mostly applies to the laws which are often the biggest hurdles to the gambling sector. While some places are still holding out on legalizing the activity, many others have warmed up to the idea.
As it stands, countries like Peru and Colombia have legalized online poker. Unsurprisingly, they stand out as the leading online poker markets in Latin America. The strong revenue performance in these countries should be enough to nudge their neighbors to follow in their footsteps. Their residence gamble at offshore poker sites anyway. That is tax revenue that they are missing out on. No one wants that. We can expect mass regularization across the region soon.
What The Future Holds For Online Poker In Latin America
The general outlook for the regulated online gambling industry is quite impressive, to say the least. As it continues to mature, we can look forward to even better projections. With dynamic and lucrative verticals like poker leading the way, those ambitions are just around the corner. That is an area that you will certainly want to keep an eye out for. Why? It can only get better from here.
