If you haven’t been living under a rock for the past few weeks, then you’ve undoubtedly heard of “Pokémon GO” – the latest mobile craze which sent millions of people out on the streets in search of rare Pokémon to add to their collections. To say that the game has been a massive success despite a myriad of server problems, glitches and missing features would be the understatement of the century – it seems like every time you go outside there’s at least one person quite obviously playing the game, their phone outstretched in front of them as they look at their map. It was so, successful, in fact, that after its release Nintendo’s stocks jumped by 25% – the biggest jump since 1983, when they pretty much revolutionized gaming with their NES, shaping the entire videogame industry after the infamous videogame crash earlier the same year. And the kicker? Nintendo didn’t even make the game – “Pokémon GO” was developed by former Google subsidiary Niantic. Hell, Nintendo don’t even own the company that makes the main “Pokémon” games (only a third of it), and yet they still somehow managed to earn over $7 billion in stocks alone.

We’ve got to face the reality that mobile gaming profits are slowly, but surely, catching up to online gambling in terms of profits, having surpassed it by popularity long ago. The numbers don’t lie – in 2016, all arms of online gambling across the globe (both on PC and on mobile) are expected to generate a total of $45 billion in revenue, while mobile games alone will likely generate $36 billion – but keep in mind, that estimate was made before the release of “Pokémon GO”, so honestly, my personal estimate would be closer to $40 billion. Obviously, mobile gaming is quickly catching up, attracting new players in ways that online gambling simply can not do. So maybe it’s time for a change. Perhaps online casinos should learn a thing or two from mobile games and attempt to improve themselves? After all, even the most informative online casino website can tell you that aside from some differences in interface they haven’t really changed all that much these past 10 years. But how?

First of all – it’s important to create a sense of community. One of the reasons why “Pokémon GO” is so successful is because it managed to bring people together. That’s no accident – the game was specifically designed with a great sense of community and real life interactions, with the inclusion of lure modules (which attract wild Pokémon, as well as other players, to your location) and gyms (which allow you to work with your team in order to battle the opponent’s Pokémon). Physical casinos also value real-life interaction a great deal – they’re very social spaces, and people rarely go there by themselves. However, that lack of community is simply not there in online casinos. There’s rarely a chat feature (and only a few games support it, if it’s even there), there’s no way to communicate with other players… It’s a very solitary experience, which isn’t what casino is about to many people. Perhaps if there was a way to engage with fellow players more, then more people would feel motivated to play?

Second – events. Many, many, MANY mobile games have incorporated the so-called “events”, which temporarily change the experience and add new things. For example, you could have a character that can only be unlocked for a limited amount of time, or some kind of bonus that will not be there this time next week. I’m not saying online casinos need to be THAT extreme, but events have been proven to work – TinyCo, the developers of “Avengers Academy”, made over $2 million in one month during their “Civil War” event. Maybe there could be a game that’s only available on certain days, thus stimulating gamblers to take advantage of it? Or perhaps there can be certain deposit bonuses in place which are only valid for a period of time before changing into something entirely different. The possibilities are right there – they just need to be explored!