If 2025 was the year the industry finally admitted that online casino ‘eats first’, 2026 will be the year we realise the menu has fundamentally changed. The days of treating casino as a dusty tab are over, but simply prioritising the vertical is no longer enough. The battleground has shifted from volume to distinctiveness, and from the frontend to the very mechanics of the games.
The wall of tiles starts to crumble
For two decades, the casino lobby has been stuck in time – a desktop experience awkwardly transposed onto mobile screens. It is cluttered, static and archaic compared to the mobile-native fluidity of TikTok, Spotify or Tinder.
In 2026, the ‘wall of tiles’ will finally start to crumble. We will see the lobby evolve into a rich-media environment where discovery is powered by video feeds, not thumbnails.
Personalisation will move beyond basic ‘recently played’ lists to algorithmic discovery tools that understand a player’s volatility tolerance better than they do. The operators that win will be those that stop building a library and start building a feed.
RNG everywhere
While recent years saw huge changes to the frontend look and feel of casino titles – from Aviator to Plinko to Mission Uncrossable – innovation in 2026 will focus on the backend foundations.
Constrained by legislative gridlock, canny operators will attempt to redefine the foundational RNG mechanics of the vertical to bypass regulatory dead ends. Expect this to accelerate.
Spurred on by the explosion of prediction markets and sweepstakes models, 2026 will see the lines blur further. We will see casino experiences powered by sports betting engines and financial trading mechanics – products that look like slots but that under the hood are built to navigate regulatory restrictions.
The sizzle that sells the steak
For too long, exclusive content meant generic table games, copy-cat ‘originals’, or low effort reskins and knockoffs of popular titles designed purely to save on supplier margins. That era is ending.
To cut through the noise, operators will pivot to a ‘fewer, bigger, weirder’ strategy for in-house content. The purpose shifts from directly driving gross gaming revenue, to their value in acquisition and retention.
Distinctive proprietary games will become the ‘sizzle’ that gets customers through the door, offering experiences that simply cannot be found in the identikit lobbies of competitors.
The boutique counterpunch
This flight to quality will further fuel the rise of the boutique studio. As AI tools threaten to exacerbate an existing oversupply problem with slop, the premium on distinct, human-crafted personality will skyrocket.
Following the playbook of NoLimit City and Hacksaw Gaming, studios like Print Studios and Shady Lady have proven that a focus on quality and craft, coupled with a considered approach to brand building, can lead to great success. In 2026, small teams with a singular vision will outperform the content factories.
Suppliers build B2C brands
The larger suppliers are waking up to the reality that the video game industry accepted 20 years ago: you must build a direct relationship with the end player. Evolution’s playin.com is the canary in the coal mine.
Expect more suppliers to shift marketing budgets from B2B wining-and-dining to direct B2C brand building, turning their games into must-haves for the engaged casino player base. Success here gives suppliers indispensable leverage over operators – more than any steak dinner or bonus pot ever could.
The offshore schism
Finally, the elephant in the room. The regulated market is fighting with one hand tied behind its back, burdened by tax hikes and compliance friction, while offshore operators innovate with impunity.
However, 2026 may be the breaking point. With companies like Tipico taking a stand against suppliers that serve both markets, and the visibility of offshore brands at events like ICE becoming a flashpoint, we may finally see a true schism.
Regulators and compliant operators will be forced to apply pressure where it hurts – likely on the suppliers and affiliates that continue to straddle the divide.
Brendan Tinnelly is an online casino consultant and entrepreneur. He is currently building a B2B stealth startup dedicated to helping casino operators and suppliers modernise their product strategies and navigate industry disruption.
Recognised for his expertise in digital marketing, Tinnelly offers unique insight into the intersection of product, marketing and innovation.
The post Online casino in 2026: The menu has changed first appeared on EGR Intel.
Industry consultant Brendan Tinnelly says in-house content will pivot to “fewer, bigger, weirder”, while algorithmic discovery tools will understand a player’s volatility tolerance better than they do
The post Online casino in 2026: The menu has changed first appeared on EGR Intel.