Online casinos are unstoppable. The likes of BetMGM, Caesars Palace, and Stake.ushave captured the imagination of players worldwide, attracting millions of sign-ups in the process. With such huge momentum behind this trend, it’s expected that the number of players in the online casino market will reach 129.5 million by 2029, which is crazy. What’s most interesting about this is that players traditionally joined online casinos for some light-hearted fun and to place the occasional bet. Now, though, we’re starting to see the rise of professional casino players, with many now focusing on potential profit above everything else.
Can You Make a Career From Online Casinos?
The short and sweet answer is yes — you can. However, only a select number of people have been able to do this because most online casino games are based entirely on luck, so you don’t have much control over the outcome. This is why the professional online casino players that do exist tend to play either blackjack, poker, or both, as these are the two primary casino games that require an element of skill. For example, it’s impossible to make a career from online roulette, as the odds of winning are around 47.4%, which is too low to be sustainable. Instead, blackjack and poker give you more control over the outcome, which is why many people play them professionally.
When it comes to blackjack and poker, countless different tournaments occur every year, with players normally having to pay some entry fee to be allowed in (or, alternatively, they have to play through qualifying rounds). With a site like PokerStars, several big-name tournaments occur each year, such as the European Poker Tour (EPT), which anyone can potentially qualify for.
The players who manage to reach the finals of these types of tournaments usually walk away with big prize pools, allowing them to sustain a career in professional poker. Remember, though, that only a small percentage of online poker players can sustain a long-term career, with the general estimate being that the total number of professional poker players is around 50,000 out of 100 million player count.
Should You Become a Professional Gambler?
Generally, unless you have a supreme talent for blackjack or poker, it’s recommended you don’t become a professional gambler because only a small percentage of people can do it. Instead, playing for fun is the best option, whether you play online slots, roulette, or any other countless online casino games now available online.
Surprisingly, there’s a slight cultural shift taking place when it comes to online gambling. Now, players (especially those from younger generations) aren’t gambling online as much as they used to. Instead, they’re ditching traditional online casinos for sweepstakes casinos, which are the same except they don’t involve real money. Rather than bet real money, the sweepstakes casinos listed on sweepstake-casinos.com offer fun prizes you can win using virtual coins, such as gift cards and cryptocurrencies. This is a trend that many industry experts predict will be the future of online gambling.
Where to Play Online Casino Games
The two main places to play online casino games are online casinos and sweepstakes casinos. It’s believed there are over 2,000 unique online casinos to choose from, so you’re spoilt for choice, whether you’re playing for fun or professionally.
The great thing about this is that you can access these casino games on PC, mobile, and even tablet — all you have to do is sign-up with one of the many available websites.
Do You Pay Tax on Gambling Winnings?
In the US, yes, you must pay taxes on gambling winnings. This is true for online casinos, sportsbooks, lotteries, and all other types of online gambling platforms, as the IRS deems money won through gambling to be taxable. This is why the people who play in online casinos and gamble professionally have to pay taxes if they win any amount of money above the threshold.
So, if you were to start gambling online either professionally or semi-professionally, you’d have to keep a close track on any winnings collected. When filing taxes for the tax year, you’d need to report all of the winnings and pay 24% in most cases.
