The aesthetics and favored design choices of the internet can change rapidly across the sector in a decade, and online casinos are no exception to this rule. In 2016, most online casinos were still designed for desktop experiences, and websites often featured gaudy maximalist designs influenced by the carefully crafted aesthetics of a Las Vegas casino floor. Modern casinos are very different, in look and functional design choices. So how did this happen?
From the influence of mobile design and social media to the increasing pressures of regionally regulated markets forcing design changes to improvements in technology allowing more experimentation – this is the how and why behind the evolution of online casino designs in the past 10 years.
Mobile-First Design Was the Biggest Switch Up
In 2025 players on mobile devices accounted for 59% of all gambling spend in Europe, up 3% on 2024. In 2019 around 55% accessing online casinos did so from a desktop device. Now that stands at around 40%.
That massive swing of around 15 percentage points of customers to mobile devices, taking them from minority to significant majority, prompted a significant structural change in the business.
One big change was the almost overnight abandonment of downloadable casinos for desktop. Many sites in the early 2010s encouraged players to download a desktop program for the most complete experience. By the mid 2010s, this had vastly fallen out of favor.
Where online casinos previously were designed for the large space of a desktop screen, now design choices were made with mobile in mind from the get go. Gone were large headline bonus banners and menus on permanent sidebars.
Instead they were replaced with simple, clean navigational tools such as floating bars. Vertical layouts with infinite scroll began to dominate, and simple search or filter functions were introduced into standard site design.
Overall, the rise of the smartphone forced casinos to adapt to an audience using a smaller screen that required simpler yet more precise controls. It also changed the aesthetics of modern online design to be more accessible, something casino developers embraced.
Verification and Problem Gambling Tools are Now More Prominent
Alongside the rise of mobile internet browsing, a more controlled shift was also taking hold of the casino business throughout this time – increased regulation.
As markets around the world began to follow the model of the markets like the UK, by licensing and regulating their own regional markets rather than allowing offshore sites, so the regulatory and responsible gambling requirements for operators increased.
For a great example, you only need to look at this comprehensive list of Ontario casino sites with reviews by Covers.com. The content and form of these popular resources illustrates the change in priorities for the online casino business. Players use them to assess their options in a crowded regulated market like Ontario, from bonuses and game collections to intricacies of user experience and responsible gambling tools.
In 2016, casinos that did come with responsible gambling tools often buried them deep in settings menus or behind several pages of text. Today’s regulators sometimes make casinos offer deposit limits and session time reminders to players as soon as they register their account.
Even casinos that aren’t required to offer responsible gambling tools by any law or regulation now do so more openly – because they’re aware that customers expect them and it is a signal of trust.
Research shows players are more interested and aware of licensing, trust and security than headline bonus offers. Today casinos are often required to make this information clear. Consequently the way reviewers approach sites also changed.
So too for verification. Even 10 years ago, a casino might well let you deposit and play for hours – before asking you to confirm your identity when you make a winning withdrawal. This still happens, but it is increasingly rare.
Regulators want casinos to front-load these Know Your Customer and verification checks, and even offshore casinos now realise delayed checks can decrease customer trust and result in increasing churn. Today’s casinos make verification checks a clear and immediate part of registration, balancing safety and responsibility with design choices.
Streaming-Style Game Library Presentation is the New Norm
Lastly, one big change – kind of influenced by mobile design – is a change in the way games are presented. It used to be, you’d have two or three categories and slots would all be presented on one big grid page.
Today, there are often dozens or even hundreds of personalised side-scrolling carousels that organize games. As well as deep filter and search functions. This is mostly inspired by streaming sites, and the way they choose to algorithmically sort their vast libraries of video content.
Recommended games, algorithmically selected for you based on your past play. Recently played, so you can get to your most-played favorites quicker. Trending games so you can see what other people are playing. New releases. Selected classics by the casino.
Casinos now no longer dump the entire game collection on players at once, as they often did a decade ago. Today they use the streaming model, whereby they bring games to the player based on their preferences and searches.