One thing that has always interested me is the evolving technology of online casinos. They seem to be getting more and more advanced every year and I am really wondering where they are headed. Here are some of the 3 biggest trends that have emerged in the last year or so for casinos online in 2010:
Live Dealer Casinos
Many online casinos have started to add a live dealer component to their software. Basically this means they have set up a tables for various casino games in some building (typically in Eastern Europe or Asia) with attractive dealers. There are cameras all over the tables and you can see the cards being dealt to you as the dealer deals them (just like in a live casino). The cards are then converted into an online readable format also so you can see clearly which card is which. You control your actions with your mouse and the dealer then plays out the hand. If you win, the money is added to your online account or if you lose the money is deducted from your balance. For example, Ladbrokes currently offers a live dealers section for their casino which can be seen here:
As you can see above, the technology involved is really cool and this is probably the hottest trend in online casinos right now. If you want to try out the ladbrokes casino simply click the image above.
Zero House Edge
This trend was pioneered by Betfair to make themselves stand out from many of the other online casinos. In the Betfair casino they have a section called the Zero Lounge where the house edge is less than 1%. They currently offer 4 games in the Zero Lounge which are: Zero Roulette, Zero Jacks or Better, Zero Blackjack and Zero Baccarat. The only real downside of playing these games is they can not be used towards clearing bonuses or earning comp points. I have personally played in the Zero Lounge and went on a run where I turned about $300 into over $40,000. This is not meant to encourage you as you can go on some really bad runs and at times I was betting ridiculous amounts so I definitely attribute this win to luck over it being that there was a reduced house edge. Regardless, I think this is a really cool idea for Betfair and I know if I am going to play anywhere online I would rather play somewhere that I have better odds of winning. If you are interested in checking out the Zero Lounge, go to Betfair and download the casino software (you can play for free to try it out).
Mobile Casinos
The other big trend for online casinos in 2010 is mobile gaming. Now that so many people have phones with solid internet connections and huge screens like the iPhone, many online casinos have started to put a lot more focus in their mobile gaming software. This software allows you to access your favorite online casino while on the go with your cell phone. Several casinos offer this technology right now, one of them being Ladbrokes (I know I already mentioned them earlier in this article, but they are right up there with the big trends! ;)). Ladbrokes offers a mobile client which is easy to use for people that want to play on their phone for either play money or real money. Even if you don’t want to gamble, this is definitely a cool app for your phone. Here is a screen shot of the mobile gaming software:
Anyway, that is all for now. I will try to put together a future post about things we might see in the future for online gaming after I do a bit more research or if you know any cool things post them in the comments below. It can only get better and better from here!
Great post.. mobile gaming is the future. The better the smart phone technology gets the more fun it is to play casino games.