People have been gambling for thousands of years, but thanks to technology, even more people can enjoy exciting games of chance. The birth of the online casino and iGaming industry is entirely thanks to technology.
Here are some of the key technological developments that launched and changed the iGaming industry.
The Creation of the Internet
If you were to ask someone, “What is iGaming?” before the launch of the internet, you wouldn’t have gotten an answer. That’s because the industry didn’t exist before the internet. The global network of computers known today as the Internet was originally created for government use. But the opening of access to the public, along with the development of the World Wide Web by CERN computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee in the early 1990s, changed the casino industry forever.
After the World Wide Web became available to the public in the middle of 1993, it didn’t take long for entrepreneurial minds to see the potential it offered to create a new industry: online gambling.
Modern Mobile Devices Put the Internet in Your Pocket
Prior to the launch of the iPhone, accessing the internet was extremely difficult on mobile phones. The majority of phones were still equipped with small screens without touchscreen functionality, while the few that did have touchscreen functionality were often slow and only offered basic browsing, let alone access to online casinos.
But the launch of the Apple iPhone in 2007 changed the way the world interacted with the internet. The iPhone offered much more visual real estate, a better overall online experience and it easily fit into your pocket. The launch of this device also kickstarted the smartphone revolution, with phone manufacturers like HTC, Samsung and LG launching their own Android smartphones a few months after the iPhone, as well as the eventual release of devices like tablets.
Today, the modern smartphone and tablet offer computing power similar to a desktop PC and are more than capable of running the latest online casino technology.
Entering Virtual Reality (VR)
VR gambling is one of the casino industry trends that continues to hold the interest of gamblers and gambling companies around the world. The promise of not just playing online casino games but immersing yourself in virtual casinos is undoubtedly appealing, offering a step up from the current online offerings, with players and their online avatars not only enjoying virtual games of chance but even connecting and forming relationships with other patrons of a VR casino.
Developers have already started to experiment in this space, but it’s still early days before the technology goes mainstream. Meta, the developer of Quest VR products, as well as Apple, a newer player in the virtual reality space, are hoping to increase the accessibility of VR. Meta has been a dedicated supporter of VR with its various Quest VR headsets, with the Meta Quest 3 set to launch in the Fall of 2023. Apple has also announced a much more premium VR product, the Vision Pro, which is set to launch in 2024.
No matter what VR headset you use, there’s no doubt that virtual reality offers an incredible wealth of potential.
Broadband Brings You Face-to-Face With Live Dealer Games
With the release of both wired and wireless broadband in the late 1990s and the mid-2000s, the scene was set for live dealer games to take over the casino industry. These casino experiences first launched in 2007, but it was only once broadband internet connections with enough bandwidth and speed were widely available that players began to view them as a serious alternative to other digital gambling formats. Today, many popular casino table games, such as blackjack, poker and roulette, are played by online gamblers around the world.
Breakthrough in the System With Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies
Another technology that is slowly being adopted by the iGaming industry is cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrencies, which are new types of digital currencies, are run by an entirely digital online system known as the blockchain. It’s completely automated and doesn’t require authentication by any banking or financial institution. This system offers numerous benefits for online casinos, including faster deposits and withdrawals, better security, lower costs for financial transactions and better anonymity.
AI-Integration Comes One Step Closer to Being a Reality
The release of ChatGPT to the public on November 30, 2022, demonstrated how close the world is to having artificial intelligence (AI) that can take over many aspects of the online casino industry. With ChatGPT’s remarkable understanding of language, it may be possible for AI to take over tasks such as customer support to help gamblers resolve issues. It could even take the role of the dealer, as its understanding of language would mean that it could possibly engage in banter and answer questions about a game.
Technology Has Changed Gambling Forever
The development of technology continues to increase at a rapid rate. It’s very likely that in a couple of decades, new systems will exist that make the developments of today look like relics of the ancient past. These new technologies, just like the technologies discussed here, will change the future of online gambling forever.
