Major companies are taking a gamble on the Metaverse. Facebook has rebranded its company to take advantage of it and Microsoft is making huge acquisitions to cement its place there. But among the general public, many people are still wondering what it is.
A digital realm of connected 3D worlds accessed through virtual reality, it seems it is not a case of if the metaverse happens, but when. So how will this impact the booming iGaming industry when it does?
How Well Placed Is the Industry for Change?
The iGaming industry has been at the forefront of interactive entertainment for years. Making inroads to attract casual gamers through mobile integration, it has experimented far more than other mediums. An example can be found in a well-equipped site like Betfair. Not only can you find classic games like poker and online blackjack at Betfair, but they have a lot of technologically advanced elements, like live dealers. Even titles that blend classic casino and gameshows can be found, creating a unique hybrid entertainment not found in streaming. This is endemic across the board and few other industries have the power to innovate in the online space like iGaming has.
What Could the Metaverse Offer?
A major part of the Metaverse is the integration of cryptocurrency and NFT items. While these were on the verge of mainstream acceptance, recent events have seen this go backward. Yet online casinos were one of the few industries that had full platforms and systems set up to accept these digital currencies. This would make them best placed to not only make the jump to a metaverse but to monetize it.
Another innovation here is the use of non-fungible tokens. This is a virtual item identified only by numbers on a unique ledger, that are not available anywhere else on the web. It could be the case that instead of transferring balances to credit, casinos could use these as tokens as they do on physical premises.
The next big change could come from the selection of games a casino can offer. There is currently a huge amount of choice when it comes to any iGaming offering. However, these would have to adapt to Web 3.0 to work. With so many cutting-edge manufacturers such as Evolution and Red Tiger, it seems that this would not be a problem. Yet it opens up more questions about how the games could operate and the possibilities they would bring.
Mutual Benefits
One of the main problems with the Metaverse is that many people still do not know what it is. Although they know it is a virtual world, the lines between if it is for business or social purposes, or even both, blur and are unclear. Yet if real-world applications get applied to the Metaverse, it could attract the public that is so desired by companies like Meta.
The iGaming industry could be the one to build the bridge. By providing entertainment that is unique to the Metaverse itself, perhaps building on the innovative game show applications and live casino themes now available, it is on its way to attracting people. The only problem with this lies in the direction the Metaverse chooses to take, and if it will be heavily regulated or if its real estate can be used to create virtual casinos.