For years now, we’ve been hearing the warning cry for virtual reality (VR). Since the ’80s and movies like Tron and Lawnmower Man, we have been given sneak peeks into the digital world. However, with the development of the metaverse, we have to start seriously considering where the world is going, and what vast changes this technology will bring.
Many industries have staked claims and made huge predictions for their future in a VR world, but we’ve come to talk about one industry in particular and how it will be affected: online casinos. With such a tremendous change on the horizon, we wanted to discuss not just how it would affect current technology, but also the games. So if you like online gambling, settle in for our predictions on why online casinos will boom in this upcoming VR market.
“Roman Stone Wheel” by Arthur Chapman is marked with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
A Gigantic Market Gets to Reinvent Itself
One thing we know about online casinos for certain is the almost endless number of them. They all offer different deals and options for the online gamer. That’s the main pull. But when websites get to provide VR gaming, it will completely set them apart from the competition. For example, a site like Paddy Power’s Casino gets to take a game like Zillard King and turn it into an interactive experience where a skyscraper-sized lizard can tower above the player in real time. Blackjack with side bets can take place in a virtual blackjack room. In Quantum Roulette, you’ll be able to see the reactions on other players’ faces when the wheel starts spinning.
Whole websites can offer the same games with much more immersion to make the experience something else entirely. Something people have never experienced before. In this, the entire market will get to choose how they reinvent themselves.
“Painting the fence” by akrabat is marked with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Old Games Will Get a Fresh Coat of Paint
Tried and true gambling like poker, blackjack, and slots will have more than one way to grow. While the fundamentals of each game could stay unchanged, the possibility of VR is nearly endless. If you want to have a game of poker on the surface of Mars dressed as cave dwellers, you could do that. Want to play against people dressed in tuxedos who are playing for serious stakes? That’s no problem. If you want to just mess around and play $1 hands with people dressed as anime characters, there will be rooms for that.
The experience of playing these games will no longer be limited by the games themselves and can now take on many forms they weren’t able to previously. Maybe now that everyone can be dressed as Star Wars characters, the game Sabacc can be played at casinos all over the internet. With VR, we’ll only be limited by our imaginations. The best part is that avatar technology is getting better and better to where realistic motion avatars will look and act like real people thanks to advancements from products such as Morph3D. You can get the rush of being at the poker table with real people without having to be there physically. This brings us to our next point.
“Virtual Reality” by Hans-Jörg Aleff is marked with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Being at a Casino Without Paying for a Plane Ticket
While playing a game of poker on Mars is certainly an impressive feat, one huge feature that VR brings to the table is being able to play in a casino without going to the casino. It’s simple, but it’s a concept that people have been behind since casinos found themselves on the internet. Now, we can take that concept one step further and allow patrons to step inside a virtual casino, complete with all the sights and sounds that one would expect from the best of Las Vegas.
While it’s an easy concept, it could be what attracts waves of people into online casinos with limitless space. If people are willing to travel the world from the comfort of VR hardware, such as Oculus VR, why not hop into a game of blackjack using the same technology?
This would be a step forward for players looking for immersion and another step forward for players looking to sit down with a table full of people… just not physically.
