Online casino’s growth in the last twenty to twenty-five years has been considerable. Largely, one can chart its course closely with the progression the internet has made: how hardware and software improved which in general raised the level of programming so better and more complex applications can be built and, also, how the price of such things lowered to enable programmers and consumers of across society so they could access them. Steve Job’s dismissal of Adobe Flash Player in favour of HTML5 was also an important moment: enabling the development of a more universally used programming language which allowed for a more cohesive system for programmers to build apps to integrate on various devices, and, notably, offered greater security measures, which Flash Player infamously had issues with. The internet has revolutionised traditional services and leisure while inspiring totally new ones. Online casinos have rode this wave.
However, there is a separate strain of influence which can be recognised in the more recent iterations of online casinos. This is television.
Mobile Devices
Television began life as static. The device, the screen was fixed in a room. It was a fireplace to be in front of, to gather around. This is till true. However, TVs are in every room. There are small ones perched on a kitchen counter, a large one fixed to the chimney breast, state-of-the-art ones shrined in bedrooms and offices within gaming set-ups. Not only this but they are in commercial spaces: waiting rooms, shop windows, offices. But significantly – coinciding with the internet and technological innovation – they are mobile, reenforcing and transcending their ubiquity.
Television can be viewed anywhere, anytime. Audiences demand it as such. All products and services are now titled towards this personalised experience, where consumers have autonomy. Online casinos have risen to meet this market of anywhere-anytime. Increased emphasis on apps and sites optimised for mobile browsers have seen a significant ballooning of the online casino market. It has become a key yardstick for gamers to judge a site by. They will head to, for instance, gambling websites such as OLBG to read about the functionality and compatibility of an app and mobile site, in addition to a sign up offer.
The next step which will see the online casino-mobile devices relationship become stronger yet is 5G. This new generation of wireless technology will delimit lots of other technology, namely – for the interests of gaming – cloud computing. What this means is that the rendering and processing a smartphone handset has to do for games will be offset to remote servers. Instead of all the work being done by the handset, the remote servers will handle it, with the gameplay, in essence, being streamed to the handset instead, which is why 5G will be so invaluable to this technology, as its faster download speeds and lower latency make it far more viable. Also, in general, the download speed and latency improvements will see the likes of live casino – and even in-play betting – become far more responsive and smoother, allowing these real-time experiences to come to the fore.
On Demand Content
Another influence is the variety of content which television apps and streaming services have on offer. The likes of Netflix and Amazon are acquiring licences to television shows which have been previously aired on terrestrial or cable TV as well as funding the production of original shows. Their catalogues are huge, catering to as wide an audience as possible. They place a great emphasis on the original content, though. In general, the licences they acquire for previously released content has likely and will likely be on other services – there’s a cycle to it. Original content, though, is what sets them apart. Netflix, HBO, Amazon – they will all pay top-dollar for the rights to intellectual property and to employ A-list actors, directors, and writers to help them attract new customers and keep existing ones.
The same thing applies to many online casinos. They have an extensive number of options covering all of the more traditional casino games: roulette, poker, slots, blackjack, baccarat, craps. These will often be in video form – digitised for speed and convenience of the gamers. Live casino games are part of this package too: real-life table dealers will be livestreamed to a gamer’s screen, using tracking technology the physical cards will be translated to digital form for the gamer to interact with. This enables online casinos to create an experience more commonly associated with the more “luxurious” brick-and-mortar establishments. It enables online casinos to cater to a variety of needs, both on-demand and real-time.
Online Casino for Cinema vs. TV
The relationship isn’t one way, though: from TV/film to online casino. The latter can be used as an example for the current streaming services vs. cinema debates that are currently ongoing. Many in the film industry worry that, with the rise of streaming services/on-demand TV, cinemas will become mostly redundant, obsolete. Audiences will have access to all the content they could want – especially with the new deals which see Netflix acquire exclusive streaming rights to Sony films soon after their theatrical release – and don’t necessarily need to leave their house for it, or at least don’t need to come to the cinema for it. There will be no need for them.
The other angle extends beyond convenience, though, and more into the realm of artistic risk. Streaming services aren’t reliant on box office. They obviously, when they invest in a property, have performance metrics which determine whether it was worth it. However, their immediate interests aren’t necessarily drawn to the bottom line, the revenue. Studios who release film theatrically do look at these figures. Critical successes don’t matter, really, unless they are commercial successes. Streaming services are very happy to take the risk on the critical successes because they want to sell subscriptions to their catalogues, as opposed to ticket sales. Cinemas are more likely to be filled with big-budget blockbusters, which have a higher chance of being more money-making, rather than smaller indie films – limiting what they can offer.
Brick-and-mortar casinos and online casinos have gone, and continue to go, through this kind of tussle, following similar lines of convenience and variety. However, customers have proved that both products have their own perks and own place. Brick-and-mortar casinos offer a slower style, with all the physical luxurious and social trimmings that players want for certain experiences. While online casinos do compete to provide a similar experience, mediated by a screen and other digital solutions, brick-and-mortar establishments are, in some cases, still favoured.
With new developments – 5G and even virtual reality – what entertainment is capable of will often look and feel, or at least skirt the same spheres, as one another, be it television or online casino. Lines, and influences, will continue to blur.