Digital gaming content is now more accessible to Australians than at any point in recent history. The sheer accessibility of games has increased dramatically because players can now access them on more gaming devices than ever before.
Gone are the days where gamers would exclusively access content on gaming consoles and PCs, with high-powered smartphones now owned by approximately 73% of 15-65-year-olds in the population, according to a 2013 report by Frost & Sullivan. Meanwhile, tablet ownership is estimated to be 49%.
16-25s Have Longest Gaming Sessions
To discover the intricacies of the ever-changing Australian digital gaming industry, the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (IGEA) commissioned a research study entitled Digital Australia 2014. And from all of the findings in the published report, some of the most interesting were the average lengths of gaming session enjoyed by key age groups in the population. Below is a chart clearly displaying the average hourly duration of sessions.
Source: via luxurycasino.com
For males and females, the 16-25 age group accounts for the longest average gaming sessions. But while females play for an average of 1.6 hours, men spend 0.8 hours longer. The increasing screen sizes of smartphones and tablets have made it possible for players to play for longer.
Moving on to the 26-35 group, many of the males and females will be developing careers and starting families. Consequently, they have less time than the 16-25 group to spend playing games. As a result, the average gaming time decreased by 0.6 and 0.8 for males and females, respectively.
In understanding the development in gamers, it is intriguing to see how the length of gaming sessions dramatically increases for males when they transition from the 1-5 to 6-10 age group. On average, the duration of session increases by 1.3 hours. Comparatively, there is an increase of just 0.3 for females.
Casino Games Inspiring Mobile Gaming
Digital Australia 2014 also spent time determining the various gaming devices present in households. By doing so, the statistics show the most popular ways in which Australians like to play digital gaming content. Outlined below is a chart showing the percentage presence of gaming devices in households.
Source: via LuckyAdmiral.com
Analysts will not be surprised to see consoles leading the way with 63%. Despite being a mature market, it has been revitalised by the winter 2013 launches of new consoles in the form of PlayStation 4 and XBOX One. Consoles retain a comfortable 10% lead over PCs.
Outside of video games, the general Australian population plays a high proportion of slot games. In fact, the government has previously estimated that approximately 600,000 Australians play slot games each week. Any way you look at it, casino gaming is now more popular than ever.
According to national statistics from Queensland Treasury and Trade, all gambling in the country generated turnover of approximately AU$174.5 billion in 2011/12. And as far back as 2010, it was suggested that offshore online casinos were generating annual revenue in excess of AU$900 million from Australian citizens.
Australian gamers have likely been turning to offshore casino sites because they can access a more diverse range of digital content than is currently available domestically. Branded movie slots, live dealer games, and mobile compatibility are all highly prevalent outside of Australia. Trying to access appealing online casino content is a natural reaction for technology enthusiasts.
Getting back to the chart above, mobiles are just 6% behind PCs as gaming devices in Australian households. The popularity is aided by the fact that Google Play and the App Store have a multitude of free-to-play apps ready to download. And of the free apps to download, online casino and sports betting apps are now emerging rapidly among mobile device users in Australia.
Holding a share of 26%, tablets are now more prevalent as gaming devices than the handheld devices of Sony and Nintendo, which account for 22%. Tablets offer yet another platform from which Australian gamers can play online casino games and video slots.
Summary
Australians are playing digital games for longer sessions than at any time in the nation’s history. And as for how they like to play games, many Australians will compliment console or PC gaming with time spent on a smartphone or tablet.
The upsurge of popularity for playing on smartphones and tablets suggests that Australians are transitioning from video games to app-based content such as casino games and online slots. Moreover, Australians have been searching for casino sites outside of their own country, which could be due to an attempt to find more diverse content.
