Innovation in technology is widely driven by competition. We are not going to jump into a debate about capitalism and the market versus socialism, but it’s almost undeniable that competition within an industry helps create new technology: Apple’s success prompts Samsung to improve its phones; PlayStation pushes Xbox to create better games; and, Airbus and Boeing’s rivalry leads to better planes.
No single company has a monopoly – or anything approaching a monopoly – in the casino industry. That has caused a raft of innovations, which are interesting even if you don’t usually play casino games. But it’s not just the casinos that are competitive, but the software developers behind the games, who want to push the limits to make their games stand out prominently.
Here are some areas of technology flourishing at online casinos:
Console Technology
Most people are aware that live casino – playing a game with real dealers – is available at most online casino sites. While the tech behind the live streaming is impressive, it’s the console technology that really feels like the breakthrough area. That’s the tech that allows the placement of bets in real time on the physical roulette or blackjack table through your PC or smartphone. If it wasn’t seamless, then the whole experience would be diminished. It works perfectly.
Connected Jackpots
Software developers have really amped up the idea of a jackpot. They have connected games across different casinos and different countries. It means that the prizes can grow to huge sums of money. Normally, these games are slots, but you can even find classic card games with progressive jackpots when you play blackjack at Mansion Casino. The world record for an online jackpot payout is somewhere in the region of £20 million ($25 million), and you would expect that figure to grow as they connect more games across more casinos and countries.
Security Tech
This is driven less by competition, and more by authorities pushing online gaming sites to be wary of fraud, money laundering and to incorporate the new EU GDPR laws (all the data protection stuff that came into force in May 2018). That has precipitated a movie for slick banking at the casino, swift document verification and other methods intended for security. To date, there hasn’t been a major hack at an online casino; they take security very seriously.
Big Data and Small Data
So, you like to play slots? Or maybe roulette is your game? Without getting into the creepy end of data collection like Cambridge Analytica, casinos are increasingly able to tailor your experience by tracking what you like and dislike. It makes sense, for example, to offer you a promotion based on game genres you like, rather than giving you free spins and chips for games you don’t regularly play. In the future, this will be applied to individual casino games, which could be customized to your tastes.
Skill Games
The technology that might truly revolutionize online casino. Sure, you can say games like poker and blackjack require skill, but we are talking about pure skill here. Around 70% of casinos are said to be thinking about adding skill-based games in the near future. Why? Because they want to capture the younger market, one that has grown up on eSports and Fortnite. Several major casinos have struck deals with skill games companies, and it looks like it will be closer than what you might think. Will it finally put to bed the mantra of “the house always wins?”. It remains to be seen.
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