LAS VEGAS – ENTERTAINMENT –Gambling is nearly as old as us. From simple dice games played before we could properly write all the way through to complex 3D online casinos, gambling has developed and adapted to remain popular, ignoring dips in popularity or threats of obsolescence by keeping basic principles and riding with the times. The big threat to casinos now however is not a lack of customers, but the industry’s own success, with a civil war of sorts taking place between online casinos and their traditional land based counterparts.
30 years ago, gambling was limited to the casino or bookmaker, with some gambling fans only enjoying a game of poker, blackjack or roulette on holiday or at the weekend with friends. Now, we have 24/7 casino gaming on pretty much every smart device we own, as well as an array of modern casinos and innovative new solutions like live casino to keep casino gaming accessible, fun and authentic.
Thanks to improved technology and faster internet speeds, online casino operators are able to broadcast living, breathing dealers directly to computers, tablets and smart devices anytime, anywhere. These professionally croupiers bring the casino action directly to the player, making a visit to the casino to interact with the dealer obsolete. The live dealers you seen on video are broadcast in front of you in real time. As well as this, the quality of the gameplay ensures players keeps coming back for more.
These exciting new online gaming websites are spelling big trouble for traditional gambling outlets however. Online gambling accounted for 33% of all gambling revenue in the UK last year, a figure which has grown year on year since online gambling websites first appeared. Less people are visiting physical casinos and betting shops and facilities like gaming arcades are not seeing any growth at all. With ever improving online experiences, the need to leave the house is becoming less necessary.
Visiting a casino for example isn’t always as fun as you’d expect too. Many casinos are busiest late at night on the weekend, with more of a nightclub atmosphere than the exciting casino atmosphere you’ll see in Las Vegas. Before visitors have played a single game, they need to get dressed up, get an expensive taxi over to the casino if they do plan on having a drink, then spend even more money potentially on food, drinks, entry fees and then another taxi to get home. The chances of winning anything are lower too, with physical casinos needing to maintain a larger house edge to cover their often expensive overheads.
Many gamblers will argue that these extra costs are worth it however, with things like interaction with the dealer and other players and the good service levels found in casinos playing a big part of the whole experience. Online casinos have realised they are at a disadvantage by relying on software, with some players not getting quite as excited sitting alone at home as they would in a busy room full of spectators. This is where live casino feature becomes a game changer.
As technologies like virtual reality become more common, the level of immersion and quality of gaming will continue to make it more difficult for traditional casinos to attract customers. The big question is not if online gambling will take the lion’s share of the market, but when.
