A sixfold increase from the $10 billion wagered last year.

Annual wagers via mobiles and tablets on casino-type gambling and poker games is predicted to hit $62 billion by 2018, reports Juniper research.

The main cause of this is expected to be the legalisation of certain online gambling services in the US market, which is expecting a number of new services to be launched over the next five years.

The report argues that successful mobile casino launches in US markets such as Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware will encourage other states to start legislating for online and mobile gambling.

Gambling operators around the world have also been prompted to develop sophisticated mobile casino solutions due to the success of other free-to-play casino games.

Even though these games do not serve as a direct competitor to real0money gambling providers, they have shown how immersive games like slots and poker can be on a mobile device.

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