For most of human history, the audience sat still. The stage moved; you watched. Then the screen replaced the stage, and you still watched. Now, for the first time, the audience can interact with the entertainment industry. This is having a big impact on the entire entertainment economy.

Think about the path of the ball. The theatre asked nothing of the audience but to pay attention. Cinema kept that contract. Television kept it too, adding only the choice of channel. For about 2,500 years, from the amphitheatres of Athens to the living-room TV, “entertainment” meant a performance you received. The audience was passive.

That contract is now breaking, and the data shows exactly where. Gaming makes around $184 billion a year – almost twice as much as film and music together. The digital entertainment market is expected to grow from $482.3 billion in 2025 to $1,080.5 billion by 2035, according to Market.us. And the growth isn’t in better versions of watching. It’s in formats that respond.

The reason for the shift is simple. The finished film is the same for every viewer and never changes. You can’t predict what will happen in an interactive experience because it responds to your actions. This difference is directly linked to how people pay attention. PwC’s 2026 outlook documented “subscription fatigue” in mature streaming markets – 39% of users cancelled a service within six months – even as interactive and immersive formats continued to expand. Passive content is becoming less popular. Participatory content isn’t.

This isn’t a new human instinct; it’s just a new way of looking at it. People always wanted to get involved – to shout at the stage, bet on the outcome, argue about the result. The theatre couldn’t accommodate that. The television couldn’t either. What has changed is not what we want, but the technology that can make it happen. Smartphones now account for the largest share of the digital entertainment device market (58.4%), and cheap mobile data has solved the last issue.

Gambling is the oldest form of interactive entertainment, which is why it fits perfectly into this change. When someone chooses to play online slots on a platform like jabulabets.co.za, the appeal is the same as it was in the betting rings of centuries ago – the outcome depends on the player, and it changes every round. GeoPoll’s 2025 data show the pattern in real time: 94% of African gamblers use a phone, and fast, interactive formats like crash games have become the main choice for 24% of respondents. The medium is new. The impulse is very old.

This will cause big changes in the industry, but it’s not the end of the world. Theatre survived cinema. Cinema survived television. Passive formats will still be around, but they’re becoming just one option among many and are no longer the most popular choice. The focus has shifted to whatever allows the audience to participate.

The audience that sat still for 2,500 years has stood up. The industries that understand what their regular customers actually want – to get involved, not just watch – are the ones that will benefit from the next $600 billion in growth.

FAQ

How has entertainment changed from theatre to interactive formats?

For thousands of years, people watched performances – first theatre, then cinema, then TV. Digital technology, especially mobile, finally let audiences get involved. Now, the gaming and gambling industries are growing quickly.

Why are interactive formats growing faster than film and TV?

They respond to the user. A film is always the same, but an interactive experience is different every time you play it. This makes people more interested. But passive streaming shows that people get bored of paying for shows. 39% of users cancel within six months.

What about casino and slots formats?

Gambling is the oldest form of interactive entertainment. The same impulse that drove people to place bets in the past also drives people to play online slots today. The outcome of each round is different, and this is now possible on mobile, where 94% of African players engage.