Mykhailo Zborovsky On the New Wave of iGaming

If yesterday you thought that online casinos were just a few new slots and slightly better payouts, then 2025 has already proven otherwise. The industry is undergoing the most radical transformation in history. What was commonplace yesterday is no longer working today. What looked like innovation yesterday is now mainstream. Online casinos are no longer just places to bet – they are new digital ecosystems where gamification, VR worlds, cryptoeconomics and mobile experiences are intertwined with the everyday reality of players and operators.

But it is this rapid transformation that raises serious questions and challenges. This is the question that our reflection together with Mykhailo Zborovsky, an expert in strategic development of iGaming products, who has been observing the evolution of the gambling market for many years, and now actively comments on how the new wave of iGaming is shaping the rules of the game for all participants. All operators are involved in this process, including Cosmobet, because technological change does not affect brands separately, but the very structure of the market.

Why 2025 Has Become a Turning Point For iGaming

Recent years have become a turning point, where players, operators and even regulators have found themselves facing a new reality that cannot be turned back. Instead of evolutionary small improvements, a sudden leap in all dimensions (technology, monetization, content and game rules).

In 2025, the industry continues to exit the stage of gradual development and enters a phase of fundamental transformation.

• Online casinos are no longer just a place for betting. They are turning into interactive platforms with elements of progression, quests, social functions, where each user does not just play, but lives a personal fantasy story. This approach significantly strengthens player retention and forces operators to reconsider monetization models;
• The modern player does not go to the casino, because it is always with him in his pocket. Platforms are now designed as mobile products first and foremost. This contributes to the growth of session frequency and the attraction of new demographic groups;
• In parallel with technology, regulatory reform is taking place. Jurisdictions are trying to catch up with the pace of innovation by creating new regulatory frameworks.

This does not speak of a change in one segment. 2025 marked a new era of iGaming, where the game is no longer just a “bet against the dealer”, but a complex digital experience with entertainment, social, financial and technological dimensions. And for those who do not adapt to this shift, the risk of being left behind is noticeably increasing.

Gamification As a Central Element of the New Model

Gamification has become a central element of the new online casino model, and it is changing both the way the game is played and how people relate to the process itself. And for many players, this can be painfully obvious. For example, instead of quick entertainment, they find themselves in an environment with levels, challenges and achievements. This creates long-term engagement, but can leave no room for critical awareness of how much time and money is actually being spent.

In its latest analysis, iGamingToday explains how gamification has ceased to be just a gaming addition, but has become integrated into the very DNA of platforms, forming progressions, ranks and daily missions that motivate the player to come back again and again. This approach turns the traditional deposit-play-withdrawal cycle into a full-fledged entertainment adventure with its own dynamics and psychological triggers.

What exactly has changed in 2025:

• Instead of simple slots and bets, modern casinos offer levels, missions, leaderboards and bonus routes that resemble computer games;
• Players no longer feel that they are “betting for the sake of betting”. They move up the hierarchy, complete in-game tasks and discover content that was previously available only in gaming products;
• It is thanks to gamification that casinos increase the emotional involvement of the player.

As Mykhailo Zborovsky, who closely monitors trends, emphasizes, gamification is not just a trend, but the engine of a new business model. It allows platforms such as Cosmobet to create an experience that is more like a large open world than a simple set of games. This makes it possible not only to attract new players, but also to form communities, social experiences and long-term loyalty, which becomes a key competitive advantage.

New Standards and Challenges

As Mykhailo Zborovsky emphasizes, the main challenge of 2025 is that technologies have ceased to be neutral - they affect human behavior, and that is why responsibility becomes a key competitive advantage. This idea becomes especially relevant against the background of how the market is moving towards personalized UX, deep gamification and a mobile-first approach.

In these conditions, platforms like Cosmobet demonstrate what adaptation to new standards looks like: transparent processes, structured service architecture, minimization of unnecessary steps, clear rules and responsible interaction with the user. This is not just a technological update, it is an attempt to create an experience that does not pressure, does not manipulate and does not hide mechanisms, but works as a clear and predictable digital product.