Although 2020 was unfortunate in so many ways, the online gambling industry fared better than expected. We can only expect the industry to keep growing in 2021, and Blaine Graboyes is the founder and CEO of GameCo, has shared some predictions of what to expect.

Graboyes, the inventor of Video Game Gambling, expects the U.S. will continue to warm to regulated online casino gameplay. He cites “the need for states to bolster tax revenues given the shutdowns of physical casinos and the reductions in retail casino revenues as well as the proliferation of sports betting.” Based on that, he expects iGaming regulation will double in 2021.

But for “mobile skill” based games, he expects the taxman is coming. A recent memo from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), building on one issued regarding daily fantasy games, ruled that the “false dichotomy of chance vs. skill as a ‘predominant factor test”’ doesn’t persuade them that DFS transactions should be excluded from a definition of wagering, despite their skill element. Graboyes ads:

“This ruling creates the inevitable basis that ‘mobile skill’ platforms that skirt gambling regulations and certifications, which protect players, will ultimately be taxed and regulated.”