Across the globe, online gamblers are increasingly seeking a more immersive experience in the online casinos that they frequent. Simultaneously online casino owners are seeking to provide them with it. Virtual reality technology provides a superb way to blur the boundaries between the technological opportunities offered by an online casino and the immediacy of a land based casino experience.
An overview of what virtual reality technology has been providing for online casinos up until now
Virtual reality has been slowly becoming part of the mainstream online casino experience for several years now. Most of the time, web designers use 3D design technology to create immersive environments for online gamblers, and often no special headsets are required! Here are just a few of the virtual reality features that are being offered by online casinos in the present day:
- Social features: much like in a laid back RPG, many casinos offer gamblers the opportunity to create a three dimensional avatar which they can use to navigate the casino’s bar and gambling areas (even ordering drinks at the bar and bringing them over to the poker table) and to interact with other players.
- A simulated live dealer experience: a live dealer game is always more exciting than a game that does not involve that human element. Virtual reality technology enables casinos to create some amazing ‘live’ dealers from scratch, some of them in human form, and some of them not
- A more thrilling gambling experience: many gamblers still prefer bricks and mortar casinos because of the unique atmosphere that they provide. VR technology is closing the gap between online and land based casinos in this regard, by recreating that exhilarating atmosphere in digital form.
The future is virtual
Now we have surveyed the present state of play in online casinos, let’s turn our gaze towards the future. There are so many exciting virtual reality projects under development right now for use in online casinos that it is so hard to choose just a few of them to focus on. Nevertheless, here is a little taster of what the future may have in store at an online casino near you.
Breaking sensory boundaries
Current virtual reality technology tends to be limited to the senses of sight and vision, providing us with surround sound and 3D environments to be enjoyed in 360 degrees. However, developers are working right now on ways in which to capture our senses of smell and taste as well. Would you like to be able to taste that glass of whiskey you buy at the casino bar, for instance, or smell the perfume of the gambler who is raking in the jackpot at the poker table next door? In a few years’ time, this could well be within your grasp. Speaking of ‘grasp’, touch is most likely to be the next sense that we will experience in online casinos. VR gloves are already available for some advanced consoles in the gaming world, and soon they may be provided to enable you to feel those cards flicking through your hands and (hopefully) the hard weight of a jackpot’s worth of poker chips.
Hologram technology?
The capacity to produce futuristic holograms may be incorporated into new social media platforms and new types of computer hardware, too. If you would like a live dealer to step out of your computer and stand beside you in your living room, that may well become a reality in the not so distant future.
Are you ready for virtual reality gambling games?
With headsets such as the Oculus Rift already being lauded as a significant breakthrough in gaming, it is time for online gamblers to prepare themselves for the advent of ubiquitous virtual reality casinos. Just remember: as gambling online gets more immersive, it may well become more addictive. The thrills will be more visceral and immediate – but so will the losses. It will always be a good idea to limit the amount of time that you spend gambling in online casinos, and to cultivate a wide variety of other healthy hobbies in the offline world too.