Online casinos have become one of the many beneficiaries of the coronavirus pandemic. This is not to say that it is opportunism, rather it is natural growth caused by the blockage of conventional hobbies and entertainment.
Overall, e-commerce and online markets have shown growth. This makes sense, as physical establishments were temporarily shut down and people preferred secure remote entertainment.
Retail investment, like online retail, experienced explosive growth. By the end of 2020, it seemed that people were desperate to spend money because their usual vices had been taken away from them. Today we are at a place where online casinos have never been more popular and have become an increasing threat to the traditional model.
Gamification of traditional gaming
When people registered to play online slots a few years ago, they could expect an experience akin to a bar or casino - three spinning reels that you crave to combine with each other. Today, people who register to play online slots want to play a completely different game.
Overall, slot machines and other online casino games have undergone a significant evolution. As seen on Tuskcasino.com, they have become gamified, meaning they have an element of competition, a theme, perhaps a story and often an online leaderboard.
One virtual slot machine brings together side quests and microgames, with fully developed themes and characters. This gamification, which is due to both the expertise of game developers and our appetite for video games, has resulted in traditional casinos struggling to keep up with the innovation.
Of course, this trend is expected to continue. More and more games are being created with new personalities, and this could eventually affect the video game industry itself. It's also possible that we'll see more collaboration between the two worlds, which have a large pool of talented developers. Perhaps we'll see similar casino games implemented on consoles, with fully controllable avatars and perhaps an RPG-style campaign mode. There are already bets to be placed on cyber sports, which is a starting point for future partnerships.
VR
Virtual reality hasn't exactly taken off in the way we expected. Consoles are creating VR games half-heartedly, and the focus is still on handheld controllers or keyboard and mouse.
Online casinos are a very important factor in the development of VR. They don't necessarily create the most complete games, but they do create many ways to experience casinos in virtual reality. It's difficult to replicate the atmosphere and experience of a traditional casino, but there are attempts to reconcile the social aspects so that gaming in remote casinos doesn't seem so remote.
It's certainly got a head start in Vegas. Virtual reality headsets are increasingly attracted to physical venues, be they sports bars or casinos. It's a much more exciting way to play in online casinos, so it's less in demand in land-based casinos, but they still have a certain power of attraction. In fact, we're beginning to see casinos hosting online casino games in shops, because people can continue playing their favourite games while competing at the leaderboards, whether they're there or not.
Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency is now controversial, attracting a lot of attention and on the cusp of serious credibility. With more and more use cases appearing, people are beginning to wonder if it will actually become a useful currency rather than a means for speculation.
Online casinos are also making a revolution in this area. Many casinos have realised that players like anonymity, fast transactions and privacy - just like cryptocurrency itself. The use of cryptocurrencies as a payment system has given people more reason to keep them, as they can play games and send them back to their wallets.
Of course, the rise in the value of cryptocurrencies will still be something that users can benefit from in this case, as they won't have to sell their cryptocurrencies for cash to play casino games. And while we're unlikely to see large, mainstream casinos embrace this payment system just yet, the symbiotic relationship between cryptocurrencies and casinos will continue to flourish.
The rise of mobile
Mobile devices have arguably been the biggest factor in the success of online casinos, an industry that exploded long before the pandemic. The ability to play anywhere, anytime is a powerful thing. We are likely to see this trend continue when more advanced and demanding games can be run on mobile devices as their graphics power continues to grow as well. What's more, we could see VR becoming increasingly integrated into mobile devices, as there are now many headsets available for mobile devices.
Final word
While some industries have only succeeded thanks to the pandemic, online casinos now seem to really control their market. Vegas is reopening, as are casinos across Denmark with the slogan 'Danske Casinoer På Nettet'! But the number of online casinos is still skyrocketing. We don't have to see it happen, though.
Eleena Timmons