The debut of online gambling was a gamechanger for the betting industry as a whole. Not only did it make casinos more accessible than ever but it also opened the floodgates for lots of amazing innovations. These days, finding great online gambling sites is a breeze.
For land-based gambling enthusiasts, online casinos had one major shortcoming. That is, they never quite could match up to the lively nature of brick-and-mortar casinos. As such, to bridge the gap and give the players the best of both worlds, operators eventually adopted the concept of the live casino experience. Gamblers can now enjoy playing with live dealers and even human opponents depending on the kind of game they choose.
Another area that has seen massive growth over the past decade and a monstrous surge in popularity over the past few years is esports. At first, it was a niche that was mostly confined to the more tech-savvy audience but that is no longer the case. The demographics have changed quite a bit. People of all ages and backgrounds are now a part of the massive global esports ecosystem. It is no longer just a subset of sports but rather a cultural phenomenon on its own. That is what makes it so special.
The Modern Era of Live Casino Gaming
Live casinos are among the most innovative ideas to grace the digital gambling scene. The benefits that they offer are remarkable, especially in this day and age where lots of people may not be able to visit land-based casinos. Besides that, players also get to enjoy some things that even land-based casinos cannot provide.
Perhaps the most notable of these is the variety of games that are available. Operators and live casino studios have the flexibility to be very innovative with their offerings. The market is very competitive and that is one of the best ways for them to remain relevant. Such things as live casino tournaments are increasingly becoming great options for gamblers looking for a feel of lively gaming space. Anyone who has explored a live social casino will certainly know a thing about how interactive the experience is. If you haven’t yet, you can find your favourite live casino here.
An Esport in Disguise?
The live casino space does share a lot of similarities with the esports sector. To begin with, the competitive nature of some live casino games such as poker makes it a great option for an arena-like experience with online spectators. This is already happening with many poker tournaments that are held virtually. Lots of them have been very successful, to say the least.
Moreover, it would seem that as live casinos continue to grow their mainstream presence, there is an opportunity for the integration of existing esports technologies. Already, advanced video streaming platforms such as Twitch have found their way into the live casino gaming space. Casino gamers are increasingly using the platforms to stream live games and more people are getting to watch these. Before, it was all about video games and competitive video games.
For the live casino games sector to penetrate the sector even further, we likely need to have more live casino games. These would then need to incorporate more of the live elements that have made esports so successful. Thankfully, the technology is already so advanced that it would likely take only a decent amount of effort to implement this.
A Few Concerns
The idea of live casino gaming as an esports is very appealing. However, there will definitely be a few things that need to be ironed out. These are not particularly glaring problems but they are bound to have an impact on the overall experience.
The first of these is the kind of live casino games that can be esports. While most of the esports games involve players playing against other players, many live casino games require players to play against the dealer or the house. This is more of a challenge that the gaming operators will have to find a workaround for. Ideally, they should be able to adapt traditional live casino games into competitive two-player moderns. A great example of how this has been achieved is with Tetris which now offers a player versus player option in the esports gaming sector.
Another key factor is the issue of luck which is an important part of the casino gaming ecosystem. Esports is predominantly about the skills that the players bring to the games. Sticking to skill-based games such as poker would be a great place to start but it will take a bit of time to bring other luck-based games on board.
The Future of Live Casinos and Esports
With the way modern technologies are advancing, the next frontier for gaming is next-generation immersion. The arrival of such things as the metaverse as well as improvements in AR and VR technology points to a future where virtual gaming will be nearly discernable from the real thing. Like you, we cannot wait for that to become a reality.
