How Technology Has Created A Bustling Gambling Scene

tech gambling
It’s fair to say that online gambling is comfortably as big as playing on the Las Vegas Strip. It’s an industry that on mobile alone is worth over $100billion. It’s also fair to say though, that once upon a time it was no way near as exciting as the bright lights of Nevada.

But as technology has advanced, so has the online casino trade. A likeness can easily compared to that of console gaming. Where once it was a basic engine, with third rate 2-D graphics and now it’s an all singing, all dancing, live action industry with whole communities and even virtual reality.

At the Beginning

Online casinos first began to emerge on the internet in the late 1990s when online poker and bingo sites were founded. Incredibly simple, they were trailblazers at the time and involved randomly generated numbers or cards and the simplest of interfaces, the sort of thing you found with solitaire online on Windows PC.

This was all possible due to the likes of CryptoLogic, which first allowed the transactions of money over the internet. Today, it’s easier than ever before with bank transfers, PayPal, card payment and even Skrill bookmakers and casinos allowing, making it more accessible than ever before.

That’s been combined over the years with the advancement in graphics and gaming capabilities.

Slots shortly followed bingo and poker and by 2003 online casinos became hugely popular thanks to the poker boom, which saw online player and amateur Chris Moneymaker win a major tournament and cashing in on millions of dollars.

By 2012, the online gambling industry hit a worth of $4billion and by 2015 that number had jumped to over $41billion, as games became more exciting and closer to the real thing.

Today & The Future

A large part of that has been down to the introduction of live casino, which sees you playing alongside real people and live dealers. With a set up identical to a real casino, it’s a far cry to the first online casinos of 20 years ago, with live video streaming and the ability to communicate with both player and dealer.

That technology looks like it will begin to take the industry even further with virtual reality beginning to creep into online gambling. This will create an even more immersive experience, with players effectively now sitting in the same room as their opponents and dealer.

On the other hand, this may add another nail in the coffin of brick and mortar casinos in places such as Atlantic City, but one thing is for sure, the online scene is booming, with a huge community and more excitement than ever before.

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