AR and VR: The New Realities of Online Gambling

Technological advancements are transforming practically every industry imaginable, from banking and finance to dating and sports. Online gambling is no exception, with two rapidly developing pieces of tech being responsible for the latest shifts in this market. While AI is the leading character of most tech innovation stories today and undoubtedly has its applications in online gambling as well, the technologies we'll be talking about here are augmented reality and virtual reality.

AR and VR are poised to cause possibly the most significant changes in the online gambling market since the introduction and growth of smartphone gambling. Through them, gambling operators and platforms hope to massively transform and improve the user's experience.

What Are AR and VR?

AR and VR are similar technologies in the sense that they both alter the way we perceive our environment and how we interact with it. However, they do differ in the hardware requirements and the scope in which they change our surroundings.

Augmented reality, as the name suggests, augments the user's existing environment by superimposing a layer of virtual objects and sensory experiences over the physical reality. In practice, this means that AR can add items, characters, audio, or a user interface to your everyday surroundings such as your living room or backyard. Through AR, you can visualize a dragon sitting on your sofa or Pokémon popping out of a bush on the street. 

Pokémon GO is one of the most popular applications of AR technology to date. This smartphone game utilizes AR technology to render Pokémon in the user's surroundings based on the information collected from the camera, GPS location, and local time. Lightweight AR technology is also frequently incorporated in face filters and similar tools.

In most cases, AR doesn't require any kind of specialized hardware apart from a smartphone to run the application on. More advanced uses of AR, however, require dedicated eyewear. 

Compared to VR, AR software is somewhat easier to develop because there is no need to create rendered backgrounds – the user's environment is the background.

On the other hand, VR creates a nearly fully simulated virtual environment. It aims to completely immerse the user into a virtual world. The resulting experience is a unique one, as you find yourself entirely detached from your actual surroundings. However, VR requires a special headset and speakers to work, which limits the number of people to whom it's accessible. 

On the Brink of a New Revolution in Online Gambling

How could these two bits of technology be used to make online gambling more exciting? The field of AR and VR gambling is still in its infancy, so laying out the exact ways this technology will eventually be used in online casinos poses a challenge. Additionally, while both VR and AR have become more widely used in the last couple of years, especially among gamers, they're still a far cry from being widely available.

The latest revolution in the world of online gambling was the development of smartphone-ready gambling apps and games. It cut the strings that were tying players to their PCs and brick-and-mortar casinos and betting shops – now they were free to gamble on the move. Another important moment was the introduction of cryptocurrencies to the gambling sphere, which added an extra layer of profitability and privacy while increasing the speed of transactions.

The application of VR and AR technology to the sector of online gambling has a single purpose: Improving the user's experience by recreating the atmosphere of an in-person gambling venue that can be enjoyed from the safety of one's home. According to BestBingoUK, the application of VR could solve the problem of the lack of interactivity and plain drabness that often accompany online gambling.

Uses of AR and VR in Online Gambling

One of the biggest lessons gambling operators learned during the COVID-19 pandemic was the importance of online-only gambling. Thanks to gambling and betting sites, the online gambling sector saw a huge uptick in profitability during the lockdown. Interestingly enough, even when the lockdown measures were eased, many players decided to stick to gambling exclusively via the Internet. As a result, online gambling's worth is expected to reach $72.02 billion in 2021.  

VR gambling will allow players to enter a complete 3D version of a casino. Within it, the players will be able to move around the venue, with a full 360° view of the establishment. Inside of this virtual casino, you'll be able to go from table to table, interact with dealers, get a drink, talk with other connected players, choose from a variety of available games, and even light up a virtual cigarette during breaks. Not only will users be treated to a full casino experience, but they might even get transported to a faithful copy of famous real-life casinos like the ones found in Las Vegas, further improving the overall experience.

Card games, in particular, stand to benefit greatly from the development of VR, as players will be able to communicate among themselves and with the dealer when seated at a table. Besides verbal communication, there's talk of features like shaking hands, sharing a drink, and more.

While the technology is still in its developmental phase, we already had the chance to see some VR casinos in action. For example, VR Casino for Gear VR, developed by ME2ON, is a functional virtual reality casino. This game boasts impressive animations for slot games, which can significantly spice up players' gaming experience. VR Casino and most other similar games are currently available exclusively in entertainment-only versions. This means that users can't play with real money but only with in-game chips and credits.

As for AR, the possible applications are twofold. Firstly, it can serve a very similar purpose to VR, as it strives to provide online gamblers with the experience of playing in a land-based casino. Additionally, it can do things like rendering a live dealer in your room, provide you with extra options, games, stats, and so forth.

Secondly, AR technology might find its use at land-based gambling venues by providing players with information about last-won jackpots, bonuses and promotions, payout data for slot machines, and so on. However, since AR software for casinos is still in development, all these possible uses are still a matter of speculation.

Obstacles to the Introduction of AR and VR

While all this sounds very promising in theory, there are significant obstacles in the way of implementing AR and VR in online casinos. 

First of all, there's the question of hardware. Both technologies require expensive dedicated headsets, spelling out a problem for popularization.

Secondly, there really aren't many AR or VR casinos to test out on a larger scale at the moment. Most of the publicly available options are for entertainment only and are not yet fully-featured.

There's no doubt that there is significant interest, both among investors and operators, as well as players, in a VR/AR gambling ecosystem. However, before more advanced software is made available and specialized hardware becomes more widespread and affordable, AR and VR online gambling will stay on the fringes of the market.