Is it Time for Online Gambling to Enter the Virtual World?

Fantasy met the real world when Virtual Reality was first developed in 1957. More than twenty years earlier, a fictional book called Pygmalion’s Spectacles was published where the main character gets to try on a pair of glasses to watch a movie.

The specs transfer all the feelings of sight, sound, taste, and smell that could be experienced in the real world.

Fast forward in history to 1957 and the inventor Morton Heilig had produced Sensorama. This machine was Genesis in terms of VR and all further developments have derived from this original device.

VR in the News

Virtual reality may have been with us for more than sixty years but the concept has yet to revolutionize industries in the way that developers may have expected. The reasons for this could be down to a simple question of cost while early, unwieldy headsets may have held VR back.

All this could change in the near future and the biggest driver will be Facebook’s Metaverse. Details of this began to emerge at the end of 2023 when the social media platform famously announced its intended change of name.

Among the many new developments that users could look forward to was the Metaverse, a virtual world where people could work, play and socialize. It’s in its infancy but, if Facebook can capture the wider public’s imagination in a way that VR has failed to do thus far, the technology could finally be set to take off.

Can Online Gambling Benefit?

It’s easy to imagine where virtual reality can enhance the entertainment experience found at an online casino. One of the biggest success stories within that industry came when software allowed operators to open a live area of their platform.

Rather than use crude, automated software, players could now be taken to live rooms where dealers and croupiers were there to run the games in real-time. Poker, roulette, blackjack, baccarat, and more were suddenly accessible.

Games for players of all levels are available. Those with vast experience can take part in a tournament while others can play an entry-level game having understood Texas Hold’em basic rules and hands rankings.

Until now, the live casino has offered the closest experience to that which can be enjoyed in the physical world. Land-based casinos will always score in terms of providing an atmosphere that cannot currently be matched by the digital portals.

Virtual reality could address that imbalance but are there ways in which the new technology can benefit both offline and online operators?

Enhancing the Experience

With virtual reality, it could be possible to take players right into the heart of those card rooms. The sights and sounds, plus that elusive atmosphere, could be replicated to a much greater degree simply by donning a VR headset.

Players can be physically located at their home but the tech takes them to the poker tables and roulette wheel. It would be a significant upgrade on the live casino technology that currently exists and it good is a gamechanger in terms of helping online operators to fully compete with the physical establishments.

It is conceivable that land-based casinos could make use of virtual reality but, based on the games that they currently provide, there seems to be little point. Why would players look to put on a VR headset to play blackjack when the real rooms are just a few feet away?

To make full use of virtual reality with a view to fighting back against digital platforms, physical casinos would potentially have to introduce a new set of games. That’s a separate debate but, for now, it’s clear to see where online operators could transform their business when harnessed to the power of virtual reality.

Has the Future Arrived?

To a small extent, virtual reality can already be seen in action at certain online casinos. A number of operators already have 3D tables in place while chat rooms exist with a view to providing a feeling of the community.

3D slot games are also in place while software developers are trying hard to replicate the sounds of a real-life casino.

All of these technologies are in their very early stages but it is a sign that VR is already here.

What Happens Next?

It’s almost certain that casino operators will already be looking at the development of virtual reality technology with a view to implementing it on their own platforms. They will be working with developers to see how, exactly, it can be used to enhance a gaming experience.

In the initial stages, the elements of reality technology will be improved as research and development continue over the decades. The enhancements will be subtle at first and customers may not notice too many changes at first. The big step is to employ the new technology and to take it to new boundaries, however, you must use other tools to get people talking. The importance of good design has been underlined by experts in order for a business to improve their products, as the new marketing would most certainly expose consumers to a company’s specific activities that may gain interest in the industry.

There are questions that still remain and one of the most important of these relates to equipment. Will customers be asked to invest heavily in a headset or some other device that will enable access to all the new VR games?

If a financial outlay is required, could the equipment be used at other casinos or would it be specific to a certain operator? To keep costs down even further, it would be helpful if those sets could also be used for traditional video games.

The future looks positive and, although we’re not quite there yet, we can expect to see greater virtual reality developments in the casino industry from 2022.