The first time the world witnessed online gambling was in the mid-1990s, and this was made possible with the help of the laptop or the desktop computer. Out of these two options, the laptop would come to be the favorite computer for bettors due to the convenience it offers and its portability. But today, the laptop is in stiff competition with mobile devices, especially smartphones. The smartphones are more portable and can easily be carried around. With smartphones, players can play their games more conveniently and on the go. Macs, PCs and laptops no longer command the same usage they once did. As a matter of fact, they seem to be dying in the gambling world.
In this article, we will be examining the rise of the use of laptop among players and answering the question, ‘do laptops have any future in gambling?’
Popularity of Laptops among Gamblers
The advantages that the laptop computer has over the desktop computer are quite obvious. It is portable, lighter, easier to carry and has its screen, unlike the desktop computer, which is bigger, has different components connected and can’t be carried conveniently. The portability of the laptop computer became its selling point as it allowed bettors to easily move their computer from one place to another while playing online games.
Another contributory factor to the rise in the popularity of the laptop computer is the development of Wi-Fi in the early and mid-2000s. As a result of this, many people saw the need to get a laptop. Laptops also became very affordable in the 2000s.
The availability of affordable laptops and Wi-Fi was a powerful combination that outfaced desktop computers and many punters started betting via laptop computers.
Stats Show Laptop Computers Fading
With over 166 million laptops sold in 2019, stats show that laptops aren’t disappearing anytime soon. However, this figure cannot be compared to those of the last ten years. In the year 2011, laptops reached their peak by the sale of over 209 million. Of course, there has also been a decline in the sale of desktop computers. Its sale dropped from 155 million units in 2011 to about 88.5 million in 2019. From these figures, it can be seen that laptops are outs selling desktop computers.
But, there is a new king in town, smartphones are now ruling the world of technology. They moved from the sale of 472 million units in 2011 to over 1.517 billion in 2019. Although its sale levelled off in 2017, stats still suggests that its sale will increase in the coming years.
Although smartphones levelled off in recent years, its sale is still higher than that of the laptop computers. This means that laptops alongside desktop computers are slowly fading away.
Can Laptop Gambling Compete With Smartphones?
There is no need for a survey to show that smartphone gambling is undoubtedly the most popular of all devices. The annual sale of over 1.5 billion phones has made smartphones the most accessible gadget with which an average gambler can place his bet.
Smartphone gambling has been on the rise for obvious reasons. They are very small palm-size devices that can conveniently fit into any pocket. With smartphones, there is no need to carry a laptop all-around when gambling, you can take your phone at any time to play your favorite casino games like slots, blackjack, poker etc. The best online casino apps and sites can be found here.
Secondly, the amount that an average person spends on his smartphone is far lesser than the amount that he would have spent on a laptop. You can do virtually everything you want on the phone. You can text, call, log in to various social media outlet, surf the web and so on.
Although, smartphones cannot be said to be perfect when gambling because they have a relatively small screen compared to laptop computers. However, in the last few years, the screen of a standard phone has grown in inches, but it still doesn’t compare to the 15 to 17-inch screen of average laptops.
Some bettors use their laptops for word processing and several other purposes. These sets of bettors will also desire to gamble on a portable computer. Just like the bettors that use their smartphones for different functions, bettors who still use laptops to gamble will be able to do several other things on it like creating a document.