Any industry worth billions of dollars a year is continually undergoing change. New companies are trying to break into the market, and technological advances are continuing to push the world of casinos forward.
It is fair to say that gaming is one of the fastest-moving industries there is, and there are some huge teams working on games that cost hundreds of millions to develop. Casino games rarely have that kind of budget involved, but the industry itself involves huge amounts of money and this means that there is a constantly evolving gaming landscape.
Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies have changed a lot of industries, and gambling is one of the areas where people have certainly embraced the changes that crypto has brought about. As well as some of the traditional casinos on the market now starting to accept currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, there are some specific gambling websites that center around crypto.
A Bitcoin casino comes with a number of different benefits that make a lot of sense for the average gambler. For example, it may allow them to share fewer personal details and protect their identity online, so as to reduce the chance of a data breach or losing their money to fraudulent activities.
On top of that, Bitcoin transactions and other cryptocurrencies are a lot quicker than some traditional payment and transfer methods. This means that customers can move their money around quickly, either putting credit into their accounts or withdrawing cryptocurrencies if they have won at the casino.
As cryptocurrencies have become the new normal in the industry, there have also been some unique games that have cropped up, such as Crash, a game that imitates the stock market. Players need to cash out their stake when its value is highest before there is a crash. This is one of a number of examples, and many other areas of gaming besides casinos are also embracing blockchain and crypto games, helping them to become much more mainstream.
Even More Themes and Tie-In Games
There are more than 5,000 different casino games in some casinos. That is a spectacularly high number, but how can casinos actually keep these fresh and interesting, ensuring there’s a game for everyone?
One of the ways we have seen casinos keeping things fresh (along with game developers) is to introduce more and more themes. People can find slot games based around pretty much anything they are interested in, or just find amusing. Popular themes include Ancient Egypt and mystical slots, but there are also games themed around wildlife, certain countries and cultures, and even tie-ins for films and other games.
For example, some of the biggest movies released in recent years have had slot games released with them. The remake of the 90s classic Jumanji saw some huge marketing efforts, as well as an impressive cast featuring the world’s best-paid actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The game also had a casino tie-in meaning people who wanted to could check out the funny and unique characters via a game as well as the film.
Unique Mechanics
There are very few restrictions on the way games work now. When people played slot games before the age of computers, they relied on mechanical machines often referred to as “one-armed bandits” to decide the outcome of games. This meant that a casino game could only have so many reels and mechanics within the game.
Now, games are made using code, with many casino games using the C# language for development. There are some real wizards using this coding language to develop games, which means there are very few limits on the kinds of games that can be made, and the mechanics within. This has led to more mini-games and bonus games, plus interesting casino game features and mechanics.
Live Dealers
Another way in which we’re seeing the casino industry change is the connection to live dealers. A lot of table games would have been played with a live dealer in person, but when online casinos launched they had to come up with an alternative, usually a simple gaming interface. Now, it is possible to connect to dealers via live cameras, largely driven by the increase in internet speeds and reliable connections over recent years.
Live dealers are not always required and it is just another choice for consumers to make, but they have proved pretty popular among those who prefer to play table games at online casinos.
Conclusion
The gambling industry is predicted to continue to grow over the next decade, and with that growth it is likely we will also see a lot of change. The industry continues to cater to all kinds of tastes with different games and themes and now features more options when it comes to usability and even currency.
