As more powerful machines and better technology are developed, video games are becoming increasingly immersive and photorealistic. Thanks to this, gambling sites have managed to integrate gaming technology into their betting games while successfully and progressively improving the quality of the online gambling experience.
Gambling and video games develop simultaneously as they both rely on the advances of technology. Although video games and gambling generally have different demographics, their common purpose is to entertain people while they stay in the comfort of their homes. It is sufficient to say that gambling has great potential with video games. To find out why, let’s take a look at some promising scenarios regarding the future of gambling in video games.
Online Gambling is The Future
Today, online gambling offers a never seen before level of comfort for players. Instead of having to travel to a bricksandmortar casino, players now have access to a wide variety of online casino and game options without having to move from their comfy couch.
As online casinos use more advanced technology, online gambling becomes more realistic and immersive, giving the players an authentic casino experience. Also, the mobile gaming industry is steadfastly becoming more pronounced as gamers shift their focus away from mainstream gaming and onto mobile gaming. This proves to be a rich growing ground for the iGaming industry as mobile platforms bring even higher levels of convenience to the players.
But the online gambling industry is not stopping there. It took the whole gaming experience a step further and branched into virtual reality. Although still at the beginners stage, virtual reality online casinos deliver to gamblers the closest experience to a real-life casino possible through the use of VR gear.
Sports Betting and Esport Betting
Sports betting has existed as long as sports themselves and it comes to no one’s surprise that betting has also become a norm in eSports as well. Between 2019 and 2020 in the UK market alone, this section of the iGaming industry has managed to bring £4.5 million.
Although they are not major events like the World Cup or Super Bowl, game tournaments like CS: GO, League of Legends, Dota 2, etc. have shown time and time again their huge growth potential. Furthermore, the rapid development of Twitch and other streaming platforms means small organized events between streamers are also a source of betting that can be exploited, an example of this is the popularity of Twitch Rivals. Hence, it is the reason why many sports betting sites are also offering eSport betting.
The creation of the HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas is a testament to the growing bond between the video gaming industry and the gambling industry as a whole, and between casinos and eSport in particular. However, this is barely the tip of the iceberg as eSport will likely continue to grow as more and more people prefer playing video games as a profession and main source of income. With constant investment from casinos to eSport, it is safe to assume that gambling has a prosperous relationship with gaming. Furthermore, casinos stand to reap huge rewards from the eSport scene.
Gambling in Video Games
Gambling and gaming’s history goes way back. As game developers create more complex and immersive games, they tend to include some sort of gambling or ways of wagering in-game money. This trend has been fast growing in the last several years.
For example, in GTA 5 Online, there’s an entire expansion adding in a casino with various staple gambling games such as roulette, blackjack, poker. Furthermore, players can take part in a heist involving said casino. In Red Dead Redemption 2, created by Rockstar Games, players can play casino games of blackjack or poker in Wild West-themed casinos and parlors. Fallout: New Vegas, a popular title amongst gamers everywhere, is themed entirely on the legendary Sin City. The game’s plots and narrative all revolve around playing the hand you are dealt with, on top of a huge selection of in-game gambling in casinos scattered across the game map.
Big companies like EA took the whole thing even a step further by introducing monetization schemes like loot boxes into the video game industry. Video game loot boxes are purchasable items in-game that resemble mystery packages, when opened, the player is then rewarded with random in-game loot. The purchasing of loot boxes and real gambling share similar characteristics such as risk and protective factors. However, the dissimilarities between the two games of chance are far greater than their similarities. People have been in doubt about the legitimacy of loot boxes. However, it is safe to assume that loot boxes will continue their existence in video games. As free-to-play multiplayer games like League of Legends, Dota 2, CS: GO rely massively on their in-game monetization schemes whose structure is akin to them.
Gambling in the Metaverse
The Metaverse, although a concept in early adoption, is hyped up and pushed by Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook. It is essentially a digital universe where the Internet is one, explorable world where people can connect and engage in various activities. This provides the gambling industry with an untapped source of growth for online gambling.
Already, Etain, one of the world’s largest betting and gaming groups, has entered the Metaverse. The company plans to create an immersive environment with virtual reality and augmented reality for both the betting industry and the gaming industry.
Conclusion
Overall, gambling has a bright future in gaming, especially online gambling. Online gambling will continue to grow and resemble more and more to real-life gambling through the use of technology. This will in turn bring massive growth in a very short time to the gambling industry. And although real-life casinos will still continue to thrive, the online casino industry is the future.
