Casino games have been popular for decades, with land based casinos reaching the height of their popularity in the UK in the late 60’s when the Betting and Gambling Act came into play. Since then, land based casinos were a hit for decades, with huge entertainment complexes being developed that house both casinos and eateries where players could spend an entire evening enjoying the vibrant atmosphere.

However, in recent years, as technology has become more prevalent there has been a significant decrease in the number of brick and mortar casinos as more and more people opt to play online. Thanks to new and continually evolving technologies that the gaming industry have embraced, an online casino now provides a completely immersive experience that offers the same excitement and live atmosphere that a physical venue does.

Below, we’ll take a look at some of the technologies improving player experiences at online casinos.

Mobile gaming

Mobile gaming is perhaps one of the most significant technologies to mention as it has had a monumental impact on the casino industry. As 21st century life has become more busy, people have reduced time for leisure activities, meaning they would be visiting a brick and mortar casino less frequently. Combined with the expectations of constantly on modern day conveniences, players expect to be able to access the latest casino games at the drop of a hat.

Mobile gaming has made this possible, enabling players to access their favourite casino games from anywhere and at any time, whether that be from a remote beach in the Caribbean, on the morning commute to work on the train, or simply from the comfort of home at 2am in the morning. What’s more, as smartphone technology has continued to evolve, they now offer an immersive experience on larger screens with impressive graphics quality.

Many online casinos now also offer a mobile first experience where their mobile site is specifically geared up for users on a small screen, creating a seamless mobile experience. In addition, many developers have created seamlessly integrated apps that mean players can access a more personalised experience without needing to load the site on their browser.

Virtual Reality

When playing an online game from home, it can sometimes be difficult to become fully immersed in the game when there are numerous environmental distractions. However, virtual reality technology enables players to fully enter the world of the game and immerse their senses without any outside distractions. It’s taken a while for VR headsets and its technology to become fully accessible and affordable to the general public, with the technology mainly being used for the likes of architects and gaming developers in the earlier days. However, many VR headsets are now at a very affordable price for the average consumer and completely transform the home gaming experience.

Live casinos

One thing that online casinos were lacking was the exciting atmosphere that brick and mortar casinos could offer. However, in an effort to bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds, live casino technology has made online play much more realistic and exciting for online players.

Live casinos operate by using a live dealer who is live streamed to online players. Players can interact with and talk to the live dealer, making the game much more interactive and similar to a land-based casino experience. These real human interactions offer a social element that online gaming was significantly lacking, as well as reassuring players that the game is being played fairly too.

Big Data

Big data provides significantly important information for large organisations and online casino providers, allowing them to develop their service offerings in response to user data and behaviour. Big data is the capacity to capture, analyse and extract huge volumes of data that a human simply couldn’t do manually as it would be too large a task.

Bid Data benefits the players experience by enabling online casinos to better understand user behaviour and adapt their services. In addition, casinos can track individual user behaviour and create personalised and targeted ads, offers and promotions that will benefit that player.

Cloud gaming

Just a few decades ago, in order to play a video game at home, players would need to download and install the game locally on their computer. Not only was this a pain to wait for, it used up significant space on the users device and gaming progress could easily be lost if the player forgot to save the game.

However, with cloud gaming, players can now access their games from a server on a more powerful computer, without needing to store any data locally. All players need is a fast and stable internet connection and they can immediately access their favourite casino games from any device and in any location.

What’s more, cloud technology has given way to a subscription based gaming model where players can now subscribe to a gaming service to access thousands of games, rather than having to make expensive purchases just to own one game.

Overall, there have been a significant amount of new technologies over the last decade that have revolutionised the online casino industry.  As these technologies continue to evolve, it will be exciting to see exactly where online gaming goes and how the user experience will continue to develop.