We’ve all seen movies like Casino Royale and The Rain Man, and we’ve all wished that we could find ourselves in a thrilling high stakes game, calmly weighing the odds as we sip on an exotic coctail.

Regardless of whether you wish you could be the epitome of the suave high class gentleman with a secret past, or would prefer to sit back and use your scientifically inclined mind to win a fortune, there is just something about the casino experience that wakes up the adventurous side in everyone.

Of course, not everyone can afford to hit the road and spend a weekend in Vegas every month, so many gamers settle for online casinos. Don’t get me wrong, they are an incredibly practical form of entertainment, but there is a certain charm to the traditional casino environment, an air of excitement and prestige that just can’t be conveyed online. Or can it?

With the recent development of VR technology came an endless amount of new gaming opportunities, and the casino industry has started adopting these cutting edge gadgets to offer an incredibly immersive experience for their clientele. But what does VR actually bring to the table when it comes to getting a better casino experience from the privacy of your own home? Is it worth the extra money?

If you want to find out, stay with us, as we are going to dive straight into the matter.

A Brief History of VR

The roots of VR technology can be found in the attempts to stimulate human senses in machines back in the early 1700s. These 360-degrees machines developed by enthusiasts of that era are ancestors to the first VR headset, constructed in 1960. The term Virtual Reality was adopted officially in 1987 and, since then, we have witnessed many new advances emerging in this field.

The VR market became very lucrative in the past decade. All the major players are there now, including Facebook, Google, and Samsung. We have also seen announcements from companies behind Xbox and PlayStation stating that they are going to pursue the path of VR gaming too. Revenues from VR software and hardware products are projected to rise to 5.1 billion by 2018. And the number of users will rise to an incredible 171 million.

Virtual Casinos

Virtual Casinos are already here. Slots Million is the first VR application in this industry using the Oculus Rift goggles to immerse the player into the virtual casino realm of wonders. From this example, it is very clear how powerful VR can be for online casinos.

We have already seen the iGaming industry making a move towards virtual reality casinos. They also want to develop virtual reality casino games.

Have you read the news regarding the events that took place in February last year in London? The ICE Totally Gaming convention took place then. Per Eriksson, the CEO of the iGaming software provider NetEnt, said that they had a very good year, business wise, and that they have successfully launched a series of VR slot games.

Visitors at the convention had the chance to try Jack’s World, a game everybody seemed to love. PlayTech and Microgaming also showed interest to work on 3D sound for virtual reality casino games. This will, furthermore, add that reality aspect to the virtual environment.

As VR in online casinos is at a very young phase, we can understand why there is still some experimentation going on. It is safe to assume that, once they figure out what is best for both players and online casinos, they will focus on it.

What Can We Expect in the Future

One thing is certain; online casinos will have to continue to follow the latest technology trends in order to be able to attract new generations. This is simply because new generations were brought up in the digital and smart phones era and they prefer online gambling. This leaves us with a question: “Will Sin City become a tourist destination in the future?”.

While VR technology brings an entirely new aspect to online gambling, it can’t completely substitute some live games where reading others is crucial for winning. But, on the other hand, online Texas HoldEm is popular even without VR. By bringing VR into the game, things will definitely get more interesting.

Virtual reality has really been slowly developing over the decades, because we didn’t have the hardware to achieve what we can now. Still, there are dozens of factors that may bring changes to this industry. From what we can gather at the moment, there is technology on the market that enables Virtual Reality Casinos. Some of the establishments are already pursuing this path.

It is definitely safe to assume that VR is going to be a part of online gambling and gaming. Whether it is going to be mainstream or just an available option, only time will tell.