What's trending on the App Store's 'Casino' chart in 2025 and why?

The online casino industry continues to grow, with 291.4 million users expected by 2029. It is estimated that 75% of these players will be playing on their smartphones rather than desktops or laptops.

This shift is reflected in the App Store and Google Play Store, where you can now find a variety of dedicated mobile casino apps.

Which apps and games in the “casino” category are the most popular in February 2025?

A quick look at the “Casino” category in most country-specific App Stores reveals the top-ranking casino apps. This will change quite often but when I opened the App Store these were the top titles I found in February 2025:

App	Description
Bingo Blitz	A bingo-centric freemium app offering board and card games.
PokerStars Texas Hold’em Poker!	Poker-focused app from PokerStars, featuring Texas Hold’em and other poker variants.
Betway Casino	Online casino app for Betway, offering slots and live dealer games.
Plinko Galaxy	Online casino game based on Plinko, inspired by Japanese Pachinko.
Betsson Casino	Betsson’s mobile app for casino and sports betting.

Player trends

Here are some trends that are evident from the top apps under the “casinos” category:

Popular casino brands dominate mobile gaming

In most regions, major online casino brands, such as PokerStars, Betway Casino, and Betsson, consistently rank among the top casino apps. This highlights how a mobile-first approach has become a priority, as operators launch native apps for smartphone users.

This shift in focus for major online casinos was seen in a sharp uptick in revenue from the app store of nearly 32% between January 2022 and May 2023.

Game-specific apps are popular

In many country-specific App Stores, standalone casino games perform as well as online casinos with a wide variety of options, which include:

• Card games are more popular on mobile as the App Store’s top paid casino entries, including Solitaire, Blackjack and Backgammon. 

• Bingo apps are also popular, with Bingo Blitz ranking number one and three other apps in the top 20.

• There were also many slot-specific apps available, though rankings vary by country.

Separate website sections become different apps

Many operators now release separate apps for different verticals, allowing players to download only what they need.

For example, PokerStars offers:

• A Texas Hold’em Poker app

• A Live Dealer app

• A Sports Betting app

• A Slots-focused app

This has become so prevalent that over 4,000 apps now have the word "casino" in their name across both the Google Play and App Store.

A new era for mobile gaming

A similar surge in mobile gaming was felt during the COVID-19 pandemic, which opened many people’s eyes to the true potential of what mobile casinos could offer. This was then naturally followed by a slight dip post-pandemic, with a worldwide loss of around 100 million users in 2022.

In many countries, this usership has climbed past these levels with a steady growth pattern emerging. There hasn’t been another lockdown, so what could be causing this much stronger uptick?

Ease of use

Approximately 7.21 billion smartphones are used worldwide by roughly 60.42% of the global population, according to Priori Data.

These are the highest usage numbers that we have ever seen, and that’s because they are becoming ever more useful.

Mobile-optimised casinos

When you open most online casino apps, you can expect a seamless, user-friendly experience, with games that have been specifically designed to be played on your device. 

Examples of this can be seen in Betsson and Betway's successful mobile casinos, which have overhauled their desktop websites in favour of bringing an interface primed for mobile use. This includes aspects such as an interface specifically designed for your device, games that have been crafted to function best on a smartphone screen, bonuses specific to mobile players and typically much higher-quality visuals.

Live dealer games and VR

One innovation spurred by the pandemic in 2019 is the continued improvement of live dealer games. These strides have been mainly focused on immersing players and giving them an experience that is as close to lifelike as possible. This led to the integration of high-definition streaming and then allowing real players to interact with each other through live chat.

Virtual reality technology (VR) has been the most significant leap so far. According to Grand View Research, VR in the gambling industry is worth an estimated $32.4 billion. This is only expected to grow, with its Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) expected to jump by 21.6% from 2025 to 2030.

What the future holds

So, with all predictions expecting strong growth over the next five years, let's take a look into what the future holds for the mobile gaming industry.

Rising AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) remains a big buzzword, with the technology’s capabilities coming on leaps and bounds over the past 6 months. It was only a matter of time until it joined the technologies in online gaming. 

At CasinoTopsOnline, we have also caught onto this trend with TopsAI, a tool to help you find information about any of our top online casinos. You simply have to type in a question about any of our online casinos, and you’ll receive a detailed and direct answer instantly.

Today, AI has no boundaries in sight, and it could soon:

• Personalise game recommendations

• Improve customer support response times

• Offer strategy suggestions for casino games

Esports on mobile

Esports has grown into a multi-billion-dollar industry, with its market value estimated at $2.5 billion and projected to reach $3.5 billion by 2029. This growth is driven by a younger audience, with the average age of an eSports viewer estimated at 33 years old.

This could mean either an improved offering for the top apps with the addition of eSports events or even the introduction of eSports-focused betting apps.

References

Online Gambling (Statista) 

Mobile Games (Statista) 

Online Sports Betting (Statista) 

Esports Betting (Statista) 

The rise of online Casinos: Trends and innovations in virtual gambling (Fintech News)

How Many People Own Smartphones in the World? (2024-2029) (Priori Data)

The rise of mobile gaming in European online casinos (eureporter)

Virtual Reality In Gaming Market Trends (Grand View Research)

What does an esports fan look like? (ESports Insider)