The Most Played Casino Games: The UK Online Casino Scene

4th January 2023

The UK casino scene has only gone through moderate changes in terms of player preferences, as slots remain the favourite option.

Even so, games such as poker and blackjack are gaining ground rapidly. Will they exceed the expectations of operators and create a new trend?

KingCasinoBonus tracked the current searches of users worldwide to come up with realistic predictions, and here’s what they discovered so far:

Gamblers searched for these three casino games the most

Slots, poker, and blackjack are the top three 2022 user choices in casino games, with their total search numbers exceeding 2 million.

KingCasinoBonus, an independent bonus and gambling operator reviewer, shows how players choose to find their preferred titles. Several keywords are ranking high among user searches, with all being rather predictable.

For instance:

  • Slots: online slot games, slot games
  • Poker: poker card games, poker games online
  • Blackjack: blackjack casino games, online blackjack games

All three casino games have been played frequently by gamblers for many years now, so not many changes have taken place in terms of trends.

Slots take first place among gambler preferences indefinitely

Given the ease with which anyone can start playing slots without any previous research, they have become the go-to option of most gamblers.

Despite the variety of special symbols and themes they provide, slots ultimately involve the same mechanism: you spin once, and you have a chance at winning.

Thus, all you have to do is click a button to spend your money playing slots.

This game type also comes with other advantages:

  • Since the target audience is meant to be progressively broader, slots have the most casino offers. This allows gamblers to spend bonus money instead of real money when spinning
  • They have extremely low budget limits, reaching £0.1
  • Due to gamblers becoming more diverse, slot themes are also becoming more numerous and specific. For instance, you can find both cartoon and sports-themed slots

How past casino trends have changed and why

In the past decades, roulette was a more popular casino game than it is now.

This may have changed because some regard it as more entertaining in land-based casinos rather than online.

However, since online casinos are now the top choice gambling-wise, brick-and-mortar venues are inevitably losing ground, with several possible outcomes.

Consequences of land-based casinos losing popularity

Firstly, games which are substantially more enjoyable live may also lose ground along with land-based casinos. While online casinos hire live dealers to come closer to the real experience, this still doesn’t suffice for the socialising aspect of playing.

Thus, people who enjoyed roulette games in the past may now replace them with another game that’s more convenient to play from home.

For instance, instead of playing roulette, which some may have taken part in simply to interact with others, gamblers may now choose to play more poker, as it at least maintains its skill involvement.

Future predictions for casino game preferences

It’s highly unlikely that slots will rank lower anytime soon.

Given the boom in popularity they’ve experienced in the last years, as well as their undoubted perks, both land-based and online slot games are expected to keep first place in the UK casino scene.

Other games, such as blackjack or poker, on the other hand, are highly dependent on technological advancements.

VR casino games may create new interests for gamblers

VR has already been introduced in the gambling market, yet the options players have available are few. However, the potential of this immersion is great.

Here’s how it could change casino trends in the future:

  • It can lead to the rise in popularity of other casino games besides slots: since people take an interest in the overall experience, playing a hyper-realistic game at home may bring variants of roulette and poker higher in the preference list
  • VR casinos don’t allow real money usage right now. This may change the focus of casino games from generating positive game outcomes to meeting new people

Socialising may become a priority for online casinos

A few online casinos have a player chat option available for the live section. While this is highly rare, such operators are sometimes preferred due to the fact that players seek to socialise while gambling.

Thus, new features that create a more realistic casino environment should be expected.

With the market changing permanently to adjust to user needs, it wouldn’t be a surprise if more types of player chats or services involving real agents were added to online casino agendas.

Summarising the 2022 casino game trends

For now, slots take first place by fair within the UK casino scene, with over one million searches in 2022.

More complex games, such as poker and blackjack, are also searched frequently, and they’re swiftly followed by roulette variants.

We have yet to see which way the market will go in 2023: even so, it’s clear that people find it progressively easier to take part in gambling activities, as all related services are only a couple of clicks away.