Virtual Reality Gambling: The Next Frontier

Few industries have evolved as quickly and as frequently from a technological perspective as the gambling industry. Anyone playing at the best sports betting sites in 2024 will find the ‘techy’ features available almost unrecognisable from what was around when sports betting first went online in the late 1990s. The likes of readily available live streaming in HD of 100s of events every week, the popular Cash Out feature and the option to play Bet Builders are just three examples of advancements in technology offering sports bettors a superior experience. 

Here are a couple more examples of technology playing its part in sports and casino betting over the past few years. 

Virtual Sports

Available for the likes of football, tennis, basketball and horseracing, it involves being able to place bets ahead of sports events unfolding in front of your eyes. So far, so simple, but these aren’t real footballers and horses in action, but rather computerised versions of them, similar to what you’d see in a video game on a games console. Put your money down on such markets as who will win the match, how many goals will be scored, whether the horse will finish Top 2 and so on, and then watch the match or race being played out for you. 

Live Dealer

As cool as it was to be able to play Blackjack, Roulette, Baccarat or other classic table casino games from the comfort of your living room at any time of day, the mechanical version always seemed to be falling a little too short of the real-life experience. Enter Live Dealer. 

From about 2010 onwards, streaming from real land casinos or studios with real (human) dealers in charge of affairs made the experience far more real and interesting, including being able to congratulate other players on recent wins or being able to chat to the Dealers themselves about anything you like. 

Virtual Reality (VR) vs Augmented Reality (AR) 

The VAR Casino isn’t just here, it’s here to stay, as online casinos prepare to take things to the next level. 

You’ll often see the two terms- VR and AR- used in similar contexts so it’s important to start by understanding the difference between them. 

A good distinction is made by the website Vection Technologies that explains it as: “While with augmented reality users can control their presence in the real world, with virtual reality users are completely immersed and led by the experience in the virtual world.”

It’s the second one, VR, that we’re most concerned with in terms of its effect on the future of gambling, especially when it comes to playing casino. In fact, it’s not so much the future of online casino betting as it is the present, because here’s what you can already look forward to.