Social Gambling VS Casino Gambling
Over the last twenty years, we’ve seen the online casino industry grow and evolve in every conceivable way. Once considered land-based casinos poor cousins, online casinos are now at the forefront of the gaming industry. The games are out-of-this-world in terms of graphics, gameplay and conceptual storylines and the bonuses on offer are simply too tempting to overlook.
A well-thought-out casino can provide players with everything they could possibly want or need in terms of gaming-style entertainment and the opportunities to win jackpots are seemingly endless. Improvements in security systems, payment methods and licensing are the cherries on the cake. It’s fair to say that the casino industry has come a long way, but don’t just take our word for it – find out more at eubusiness.com.
A Road Less Travelled
There’s no doubt about the fact that online gaming has never been so good or as popular as it is today, but we’ve noticed that a fork in the road has appeared. This fork veers away from real money gambling and towards social gambling. Social gambling is a movement that has been quietly but steadily gaining momentum over the last few years.
You may not think that you’ve heard of it but if you have a social media account, you’ve probably come across social gambling without even realizing it; think FarmVille or Mob Wars. These are games that promote interaction between players – hence the ‘social’ aspect – and they’ve proven to be hugely popular. Players seem to love the combination of having to work towards goals and then being able to show off their achievements.
Between Friends
These games present themselves as purely fun games to play between friends, but what many people don’t realize is that playing these games is still a form of gambling – less so, admittedly, but gambling nonetheless. The big difference between these games and real money casino games is that players are not playing to win money. Players are playing to win a new skill set or buy a new tool, or they might be playing to win a new level-up or a bonus prize.
The gambling aspect that links the two forms of gaming is there because even though social gambling games are free to play, they require you to spend real money in order to get the skills and tools that will help your progress within the game. And the money that you spend doesn’t always guarantee a return.
Gamification
Online casinos have, of course, caught on to the fact that there is a large contingent of gamers that yearn for more social interaction whilst playing the games they love. And it’s for this reason that we’ve seen more and more casinos turn to gamification technology.
Gamification gives players the chance to compete against each other for the top spot on a leader board; it allows players to collect merit badges or special points that can lead to winning extra bonuses; it can keep players engaged with the casino rather than just the games and, therefore, encourage them to remain loyal.
What’s next?
As social gambling grows in popularity, the casino industry is likely to do more to draw social gamblers into casinos. Live casino games have certainly been a big draw for those who want human interaction while they play table games, but we think the future holds bigger and better things.
We’re excited to see how VR technology is going to be used within the casino context; it’s certainly going to add an exciting element to Live Casino, but might it also be used to create gambling games that are a little bit more out-of-this-world? We’ll leave that up to the software developers.
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