Online betting has taken considerable strides over the past ten years. With the first online casinos and sportsbooks offering players extremely basic, limited choices, the advancement in betting tech has been nothing short of remarkable.
While the tech advancements have made the biggest impact, the USA reversing its ban on online sports and casino gambling have also changed the market’s structure. For example, it is now legal to participate in online sports betting in New Jersey — something which was illegal until June 2018
So, what has been helping to drive the technological revolution behind online betting, and where is it likely to go in the future?
Significant Advancements
One of the biggest shifts in the industry has been the introduction of live dealer gaming. This allows players to enjoy a real casino experience without leaving their home.
One of the main players in the development of this tech is Evolution Gaming. Its live dealer studios are regarded as a cutting-edge innovation within the industry and have provided players with a huge number of live dealer games to play. They offer HD video streams and state-of-the-art software to deliver a high-class experience for online players.
Another example of technological advancements within the online betting world is the use of cryptocurrency. Many online casinos have started to allow cryptos as a payment method over the past five years, due to the increased security, privacy, and processing speed cryptos offer.
While they are not widespread across the industry at the moment, the number of casinos and sportsbooks that accept crypto payments is increasing all of the time. This has allowed online casinos and sportsbooks to mimic the instant payment model that brick-and-mortar venues offer, courtesy of the speed with which cryptocurrencies process payments.
Where to Next?
One of the next shifts expected to make a major impact is Virtual Reality casinos. As current Virtual Reality is a much superior product to the original type popular in the 1990s, the next generation of online casino games is highly likely to include VR elements.
This may well facilitate the next level of live dealer casinos, as the VR headsets will empower players to fully immerse themselves in games. It won’t just be online casinos that can benefit from this technology either — there’s also the possibility of online sportsbooks offering the chance to “virtually” be at an event through a VR headset.
While the technology is still limited to a small percentage of the population, Virtual Reality will become more widespread as it grows increasingly affordable. When this happens, it’s expected that online casinos will embrace the tech with open arms!