Ever since the first casinos started to come on the scene in the 1990s, iGaming has been driven by technological progress. One only has to compare today’s online casino sites with the early versions to see just how great the progress has been.
But it’s an industry that has to continue moving forwards if it’s to satisfy existing players, and attract new ones as well. This means constantly adding to or refining its offering in various ways.
Sometimes technology driven, sometimes in response to changing player habits, it’s these advances that have turned it into a multi-billion dollar industry that is now firmly in the sights of many potential investors.
So here are seven trends that are set to affect the industry in the near future, to the benefit of everyone involved with it.
Virtual reality games
It may have been a long time coming, but it seems like VR has now arrived – and the iGaming industry is keen to exploit this fact to the full.
It’s always been an important ambition of online casino sites to make the experience of playing on them as realistic as possible. So, for example, anyone playing online poker should feel like they are actually sitting round a table and pitting their skills against real opponents.
With VR this will take a step closer, along with making playing games like roulette and blackjack a 100% more immersive experience.
Artificial Intelligence
AI seems to have had a similarly long gestation period as VR. But, again, now it’s being deployed in countless ways. In the iGaming arena some of the biggest effects it’s set to have is in tailoring sites and games to players’ particular preferences. It will also be used to ensure that the incentives and other offers made as loyalty bonuses are the sort that will be most appreciated by the individual player.
In common with many other business sectors, it is also likely to take customer support up a level by creating even more flexible and reactive automated phone and online assistance whenever it’s needed.
Skill-based slots and gamification
As time has progressed, the iGaming and video game industries have been gradually starting to share more features. One only has to look at the way that some slots games now have a distinctive narrative theme running through them. This is now taking a step further with some slots being introduced that include an element of skill too. Generally, this involves including a round in which a player has to complete a particular task to win a cash reward.
Gamification involving greater participation in casino games in general is also likely to play an increasing role on many sites.
More focus on sports betting
Ever since the Supreme Court in the US changed the law to allow individual states to set their own sports betting laws the activity has seen an explosion. And it’s not just huge global events like the football World Cup that generate betting activity. There’s also a great deal of weekly activity across a whole range of sports from American football to ice hockey and from cricket to tennis.
So we can expect to see iGaming sites offering more and more opportunities for sports fans including opportunities to bet on virtual sports too.
Increased safety
In fact, the blockchain could well help online casino to become even safer than ever before thanks to the way in which it guarantees the anonymity of players and ensures that transactions are made quickly and securely.
Add to this the ever-more complex forms of encryption technology used by most casinos and players can be 100% confident that their personal information and gambling activity will be kept private.
More social interaction
One aspect of the “real” casino experience that has always been lacking in iGaming has been the ability to interact with fellow players. But this is something that may soon be reversed by creating closer links with various social media platforms.
This could help players message each other while playing, share in each other’s success and even alert friends about offers and other incentives being made by different casinos. So expect to see online casinos becoming a whole lot more social.
Of course, there are many other advances we can expect to see in the iGaming world, but these are likely to be the big ones. So get ready for an even better, safer and more immersive experience all round.
