Technology and innovation drive development in gaming, as much as it does in other facets of our lives – and with the global value of gaming growing almost exponentially, and set to hit $256.97 billion by 2025, it is no surprise that the developers and creators are desperately keeping ahead of the innovations that make gaming better for us all.
One gaming niche which has grown at a substantial rate due to the influence of technology is online casinos. Most people now enjoy playing at online casinos like 888 due to the ease of accessibility and convenience of playing anywhere and at any time. Previously, if people wanted to play casino games, they would need to find time to visit a land-based casino. Nowadays, they can access a range of casino games on the go with mobile phones being one of the most popular devices to play games on.
With technology constantly developing, below we will look at what is coming and developing in the casino world, looking at the top four casino trends that you should be keeping your eye on.
Better Connectivity
While gaming used to be tethered to our homes because of the availability of reliable internet connection, the rollout of fast connection through 5G gives players so much more choice and opportunity.
Casino players can now access their favorite casino games using their smartphones or other mobile devices.
Having the ability to connect to the internet to be able to play casino games online wherever we are has meant that more people are taking advantage of getting their game on while they are out and about, waiting for a bus, or just needing something to do while on a break at work.
As mobile devices become more capable, and connectivity continues to improve, there will come a time when wi-fi won’t really make a difference to our ability to play even the most complicated and intensive casino games.
Monetization
Online gambling providers need to make money to be viable businesses, and there are various ways that they can do this now.
The traditional way of making money from creating games was to sell the game to the end user. This is still something that happens, but monetization can come in several different forms now.
Some games, especially casual mobile games, can monetize their offering by allowing a game to be downloaded for free, but showing ads. These ads come in randomly throughout the gameplay, and in some cases, they cannot be skipped, but a small payment to get a ‘premium’ account will remove them.
Other free games might offer in-app purchases of various tools and items that can help you play better. This is seen particularly in the free console and PC games such as Fortnite, for example.
Online casinos and sports betting games make their money through what is referred to as the ‘house edge’ – it is built into the odds of a wager or the RTP rate of a slot machine.
Online casinos will also typically offer bonuses and promotions to their players, especially new players. This way they can attract players to try out their site for free or at a discounted rate and hope that the player will return and deposit their own money in the future.
Subscriptions are going to become more prevalent as we move into the future. We are already subscribing to TV shows and movie franchises through our smart TVs, and gaming is allowing that to happen even more. For example, Xbox offers several subscriptions that allow access to online multiplayer gaming and chats, as well as hundreds of games that can be played for free.
It is predicted that we may see subscription services be introduced to the world of online casino gaming in the future, with players paying a monthly fee to play a range of casino games.
Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality
Virtual reality might still seem like sci-fi in a lot of ways, but there have been great developments in VR and AR in the last few years. In terms of gaming, the most obvious example of AR gameplay is in Pokémon Go, but the possibilities that changing reality can have on gameplay could change the whole technology landscape of gaming.
VR headsets for consoles and PC gaming have become much better than they ever had be, and while the top titles for VR tend to be built specifically for the headset (Beat Saber is a good example of this), the future could be that we strap on a headset and walk into a plush casino to spin the roulette wheel, or AI could render graphics that change the items in your room into landscapes and other things so you as an avatar can move around and interact with the game in a really tactile way.
AR and VR could impact online casinos in the future, with providers introducing virtual casinos where players can see each other using a headset. For example, in a land-based casino, players would be sat around a poker table when playing poker. This could be introduced using VR technologies in the future allowing online players to interact with one another.
Artificial Intelligence
AI already has such a big presence in our gaming. From NPCs in first-person games to creating unique situations for shooters, they also provide algorithms for randomness in slot gaming and all sorts of other things.
AI is also becoming more and more responsible for providing the ‘live chat’ function that you might use for getting access to help, sometimes replacing the human element and using machine learning to provide a service for customers in different ways.
When you think that these days AI can replicate art and written information in a way that is starting to come close to humans, it is no surprise that it will have a huge impact in casino gaming.
Technology is forecast to continue to grow and develop the online gaming industry further and there is no surprise that this will also impact the growing casino industry too.
