Published on May 25th, 2020 | by Sunit Nandi

Online Casino Industry Shifting towards Virtual Gaming

Online casinos first appeared on the internet in the mid-1990s and have quickly improved in every imaginable aspect since. We have gone from a few simplistic virtual gambling games to casinos with vast libraries of graphically impressive games with versatile gameplay styles and exciting rewards. To make things even more exciting, online casinos added the live dealer games, which have really brought much of the real world casino atmosphere to the online players.

Yet, with the technology advancing so fast, it is no wonder that the online gambling industry is also moving forward at an incredible pace. Mobile and live casino gaming are already considered industry standards and the new trend that we are looking into today is the introduction of virtual reality into online gambling.

Virtual reality only appeared in online gambling over the last five years or so and is already making great impact. With more new VR games being introduced every passing year, VR is promising to change the landscape of online gambling over the next decade and operators like BetMGM Casino online and others may have to look to implement this technology to keep on pace with competition soon.

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Virtual Reality Casinos Today

Virtual reality is not yet fully implemented in the online gambling world and we can’t exactly say that it is mainstream just yet. Similar to many other industries, online casinos are doing experiments with the VR, but there is no clear indication that fully usable virtual reality casinos are coming up.

The whole trend was started by the likes of SlotsMillion who implemented a virtual reality casino platform back in 2015, allowing players to roam a virtual casino floor through the use of VR headsets. In 2018, NetEnt released their popular Gonzo’s Quest video slot in a VR version, making it the first real VR slot to hit the market, with more companies following soon after.

Yet, all of these remain experiments and it is hard to say at which point proper virtual reality casinos may be available. With some development, it is however becoming quite clear that VR casinos are completely realistic and something we could expect within the 2020s.

Virtual Poker Already a Reality

Development of good virtual reality games takes a lot of funding, and who better to do it for the online gambling industry than PokerStars. The biggest company in online poker launched their PokerStars VR for devices like Oculus and made it possible to play online poker with friends and random opponents in a virtual reality world.

PokerStars VR is not a real money game so players can only play for fun at this time, but it is only a matter of time before a real money version is finally introduced. Player reviews have already been quite excellent and there is no denying that playing poker this way adds to the excitement of the actual experience.

PokerStars went a step further than making it just about playing poker by adding various props for players to use and making it possible to play in a variety of virtual poker rooms ranging from a wild west saloon to various futuristic worlds and setting.

What’s missing for VR?

There is almost no doubt that forms of virtual reality will become one of the favorite types of entertainment for people in the near future and online gambling will almost inevitably be caught up by the trend. For online casinos, there are many reasons to allow players to enter the VR to play, not the least of which are the added excitement and enhanced experience for the end user.

However, we still have some way to go before this dream becomes a reality and the one thing holding us back is the technology. VR tech is currently quite expensive and not very available; so many potential players don’t yet own the appropriate headsets that would be necessary to play. What’s even more, people are simply not yet used to idea of playing games in the VR.

The other factor is the development of games, as developing VR games is considerably more expensive than developing standard video games at this time. This too will stop being a factor over time, as software development for VR becomes simpler and more accessible around the world. When these things happen and VR becomes more profitable for everyone involved, online casinos will be offering virtual reality versions left and right.

Tags: gaming, online casino, shifting, virtual gaming, virtual reality, vr

About the Author

Sunit Nandi I'm the leader of Techno FAQ. Also an engineering college student with immense interest in science and technology. Other interests include literature, coin collecting, gardening and photography. Always wish to live life like there's no tomorrow.