Gaming Goes Vegas - Bringing the Casino Experience to Your Living Room


Gaming Goes Vegas

The online gambling industry is one of the industries that has benefited most from technology with all sorts of platforms now allowing wagers on real money games.

PlayStation users could be the next group that will need to get familiar with popular casino games like slot machines, blackjack, roulette, and poker. Thanks to technological developments in recent years digital casinos have been brought into our homes and they’re not expected to leave anytime soon.

Online casino operators have successfully been adapting their services to these new developments in order to provide a superior experience that comes as close as possible to the traditional land based casino experience. This guide dives into the casino industry’s potential steps to integrate their activities in PlayStation devices as well.

Bringing the Casino Experience to Your Living Room

Let’s start off by thinking about an online casino website and trying to separate the different elements available on the website. First we’ll go to the game lobby that ideally features thousands of casino games.

Instead of needing to walk to a cashier to get roulette chips you can ideally top up your balance on the banking page whilst the chat bot gives you the option to instantly get in touch with an employee to get help in case of any questions. While this may still look a bit distant to some, things will get interactive if you use the previously purchased chips at the live dealer casino where the dealer takes bets.

Setting a bet and watching and hearing the roulette wheel makes sure you’ll feel like you're seated at the table which is actually the case as you’re occupying a virtual seat. If you’re lucky enough to make a win you’ll be paid out immediately, just like in a land based casino venue. Nowadays, it doesn’t really matter whether you’re sitting on your favourite couch or you’re on the move as you can play on your mobile phone at any time.

The same holds true for tablets and the platforms used for casino games have been gradually changing as well. Initially played at digital casino websites, social networks like Facebook have also integrated paid casino games into their platforms in recent years.

Mobile Play

When the first digital casinos opened their virtual doors, they were initially available on desktop computers only. Please note that the first online casino was already launched in 1994 at a time when most people didn’t have a clue that phones would turn out to be portable and thus mobile at some point of time. Pretty much all modern online casinos now support mobile play as mobile users now make up the biggest group of users on most websites. This is quite a performance as most of the activities are performed in a web-based environment rather than needing to download a casino onto a pc, laptop, or phone. You just need an internet connection and a device and you’re good to go.

Live Dealer Games

There is an endless pursuit for the most authentic casino experience and casino websites are more and more able to deliver this. This has been made possible by software developers who have managed to integrate live dealers and live studios with the devices of players sitting at home. Instead of needing to wait for computer based outcomes, players are now served by real human dealers who are part of real time streams brought in either HD or 4K quality.

Even though there is a still screen that separates you as a player from the studio table, this still makes the experience as close as possible to a visit to a brick and mortar based casino. Live dealer games are probably the best thing that has happened to the online casino industry in the last decade, but game consoles may get their share too.

The Integration of Loot Boxes in Video Games

In fact, games of chance have already been implemented in video gaming, at least indirectly. This is often claimed to be the case due to the launch of loot boxes. A loot box is seen as a form of monetisation, with users either buying the boxes directly or receiving the boxes whilst playing and buying ‘keys’ with which to redeem them. Loot boxes were popularised through their implementation in several popular video games in the mid-2010s.

By the second half of the decade, some video games, Star Wars Battlefront II in particular, expanded the concept to a lucrative activity which caused them to become widely criticised as people did not know the exact content of the box they were paying for. This made loot boxes a form of gambling with criticism including a so-called "pay to win" gameplay systems that favour those that spend real money on loot boxes and negative effects on regular gameplay to facilitate them.

Due to fears of them being used as a source in grey-market skin gambling, loot boxes were forced to become regulated under national gambling laws in different countries. Loot boxes are also available on PlayStation, XBox, and Nintendo. Different from what one would expect, in some jurisdictions, underage users are allowed to purchase so-called loot boxes. In most cases they will need access and permission to use the banking method of their parents or caretakers.

Playstation Play Might Be A Next Step

Gambling enthusiasts don’t only turn to loot boxes on their gaming devices, but they also play casino games on social media such as Facebook. Games of chance and non-traditional platforms are therefore already connected which might just pave the way for the integration of the casino experience into PlayStation games. The major challenge would be to limit these games to players of 18 years and older.

Like social media games, PlayStation games are expected to have a predominantly fun element to it which makes it fall into a grey area as there is a thin line between what’s gambling and what’s entertainment. If these developments continue, international gambling authorities are likely to regulate PlayStation games in a comparable way as is being done with loot boxes.

Final Thoughts

The international gaming industry has managed to expand tremendously over the past two decades and significant developments in the digital world have a vast impact on the global gaming business. Much of that growth is directly related to the implementation of further mobile technological innovations, which includes a separate category that is allocated to gaming devices such as PlayStations. The real challenge is to regulate a new type of hybrid games that combine video gaming and gambling features into one, single game.

In the last 15 years, people went from gambling in traditional land based gaming venues “forcing” them to leave their homes to play their favourite games to doing the same thing on their couch or wherever they have access to their device and an internet connection. Thanks to the launch of live dealer games, gambling enthusiasts feel less need to leave their homes to feel the same thrills and make the same potential wins.

All the technological launches we've seen since the first casino in 1994 have shaped today’s gaming industry, and new emerging technologies are likely to continue to change it. PlayStation users might just be the next group of players who are treated with subtle hybrid games that combine traditional games of chance with video gaming. For those who do turn to this category of games it is recommended to make use of casino reviews and comparisons on KiwiGambler as these provide a safe and secure playing experience.


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