Is Vegas Missing Out On The Mobile Casino Revolution?

The role of the mobile device in our daily lives have changed significantly over the years. Today you would much rather reach for your phone or tablet to connect with the outside world, because you have the same access you would get from a desktop platform, with the additional convenience of using it anytime, anywhere. The mobile option also gives you fun extras like apps to revolutionize the way you do pretty much everything, from banking to shopping to traveling. At least 80 percent of the global adult population owns a smartphone, and is most probably online right now.

Considering the above, it stands to reason that online casino operators have been progressively tweaking their offerings to appeal to the mobile player. Mobile gambling itself could be the gateway to introduce new players to an industry that has been growing by 10 percent per year. Mobile gambling apps are becoming more advanced and widely accessible, and analysts predict that by 2018 mobile punters will account for more than 40 percent of the entire online gambling community.

So to say that mobile gaming is the future of online gambling is a very fair assumption. Review sites like CasinoQuest recommend casino sites that are solely geared on mobile technology such as Leo Vegas and Mobilebet. And the developers behind the games are following suit too, for example Net Entertainment and Microgaming release its new titles with a desktop and mobile version almost simultaneously.

Research reveals that 35 to 40 is the average age of players presently engaging in mobile gambling activities. It subsequently also indicates that the younger generation of gamers are not as interested in casino games as they are with modern day video games. Online and mobile casinos would therefore need to deliver similar immersive and cutting-edge social gaming experiences to reel the millennial market in, and they aim to do exactly that with virtual reality technology.

The integration of VR by various different organizations has exploded over the past year, with the number of active users expected to climb to 171 million by 2018. Recently launched wearable technology like the Apple Watch and Samsung VR head gear have already proven to be hugely successful with the millennial crowd, so the idea of gamifying a casino experience to draw them in makes perfect sense.

IGT, Microgaming and Playtech already have structures in place to deliver VR gambling experiences, so the transition from existing online slots to VR versions thereof could easily be achieved via website and mobile downloads. And once “VRfied”, the possibilities open to casinos are exciting to say the least, for example voice recognition controlled Blackjack and virtual roller coaster ride bonus features, as showcased by the IEC Totally Gaming held in Europe recently.

In a nutshell, VR casino gaming perfectly pairs convenience with heightened sensory stimulation, and that is the ideal recipe for casinos to keep punters glued to their screens for longer, which ultimately is the goal. If you could experience walking into a casino lobby, be greeted by a live dealer and strike up a real chat with fellow blackjack members at your table, along with enjoying the thrills of placing bets and winning real cash, all from the comfort of your own home, why on earth would you want to go anywhere?

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