The New Wave of Meta Casinos is Here
Tech marches rapidly, and in a little over half a century mobiles and the internet have moved from science fiction to real life. The next major step forward in iGaming seems destined to be metaverse casinos, but how would these work?
What is the Metaverse?
There’s more than one metaverse out there, and the number is growing. But what are they? Essentially, a metaverse is a shared virtual online world that can incorporate aspects of virtual reality (VR) and/or augmented reality (AR). Some also make use of blockchain technology and can involve buying digital assets via cryptocurrencies. The term has most recently come into the headlines primarily due to Facebook’s plans to rebrand itself along these lines.
Decentraland and ICE Casino
The metaverse is the latest in a long line of technological advances and accompanying jargon. It also incorporates aspects of NFTs (non-fungible tokens), which have proven an interesting, if controversial, innovation. NFT wearables at ICE Poker (a metaverse casino) have to be bought in order to play, and can be thought of as similar to cosmetic gear in multiplayer videogames. As with other NFTs, the wearables can increase in value, and be sold if you feel that’s the best way to actualize profits.
Possession of the NFTs means a daily number of chips are awarded, with a midnight reset. Poker can be played with the chips, which can also be used to complete various daily challenges for tokens and xp (experience points). These can then be used to upgrade the NFTs, as can Decentral Games tokens ($DG). ICE Poker exists within the metaverse of Decentraland, but there are plenty more out there already and more coming down the pipeline.
Free Spins & Other Bonus Comparisons
When it comes to the best free spins bonuses there are 100s of free offers that players can take advantage of online. These are the perfect avenue by which to explore both newly released slots games and online casinos ahead of making real money deposits. Free spins enable players to enjoy the chance of winning real cash at no risk of losing out, and to see whether a game’s mechanics and style suit them or not. At the moment there isn’t much in the way of free casino bonuses in the meta verse but this is sure to change when there is more competition.
More Tech from Science Fiction
It’s not so long ago that instant communications via portable device or a grand repository of knowledge accessible by computer dwelt only in the realm of science fiction. In the same way, the metaverses are just one more example of technology being developed in a similar manner to the works of science fiction.
One caveat though: tech can move a lot faster or slower than people expect. While VR gaming is getting going, it took decades of being ‘nearly there’. On the other hand, cryptocurrency has moved pretty rapidly from being a little-understood and strange idea to becoming used for shopping, getting paid, and betting online on a daily basis. Metaverse casinos are coming, although how long before they rival (or surpass) traditional online casinos remains to be seen. Big companies certainly see the metaverse as worth investing in, with many firms already buying up virtual real estate.
The Impact on iGaming
Online casinos have never been shy about taking on new technology. Their very premise was established that way, when early casinos began operating over two decades ago. Since then, there have been a number of innovations that have significantly increased accessibility, perhaps most notably the rise of smartphones which meant mobile gaming allowed any player to effectively have a casino in their pocket.
The potential for metaverses to revolutionize online casinos is substantial. One aspect of it that dovetails with already developing games is the focus on VR and AR, mentioned above in passing. It’s easy to see how well this could integrate with popular live dealer casino games, which put together the convenience of online gaming with the atmosphere (to an extent) of a real-world brick-and-mortar casino. But add VR into the mix via metaverse casinos, and you bring the immediacy to the next level because the filter of a 2D environment is removed and a 3D world is created.
It’s also possible that developments in this sphere will take a leaf from the books of both videogames and social casinos, with increased social interactions (made more natural via 3D VR worlds) and cosmetics (items that alter appearance but have no other function). As the ICE Casino example above indicates, wearables as NFTs is an innovative approach and one that may inspire other metaverse casinos.
VR technology remains a developing area, and costs can be relatively high. In addition to NFTs, it’s likely cryptocurrency will become a mainstay of funding metaverse casinos. Although more volatile than fiat currencies, crypto is highly secure and anonymous, and is used for purchasing NFTs anyway.
Sports Betting?
Many online casinos have a sports betting wing, and this is one area that has long been seen as improvable with VR. Imagine watching a football match and being able to see things from the perspective of a camera on the referee or player. Or a VR feed of a Formula 1 driver’s view. It’s easy to see how this can dramatically improve immersion in any sporting event.
It seems near-certain metaverse casinos will be the next major revolution in iGaming, further embedding cryptocurrency and bringing NFTs to the online betting experience.
