The online casino business has boomed over the last few years. Players in the UK and around the rest of the world seem to love games of chance and the possibility of winning some money. In turn, the taxes these businesses pay help to run the country’s economy. However, will they ever replace the physical casino or are physical casinos too popular to be closed down?
Games of chance have been played for many centuries but it is only the advances in technology that have allowed them to be played online. Some casinos have had sites where players could enjoy some fun on their desktop computers ever since gambling became legal in the UK. However, several of them fell behind and failed to realise the impact smartphones would have. They have all mostly caught up and have apps for their players to make having fun much more simple.
The Smartphone Revolution
Smartphones have made everything mobile and, certainly, the High Streets of most cities are suffering because it is easier to buy online. The financial sector, such as banks, are closing branches all the time because they are no longer being used and some of the biggest and oldest names in retail stores, such as Woolworths and British Home Stores have been victims of the online buying revolution and disappeared.
‘Woolworths’ – ftchris via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
This raises the question of whether the same will happen to physical casinos, and whether online gambling will see them disappear too?
Online casinos are able to offer a player experience that could never be matched by a physical casino. The choice of games on offer, for instance, often runs into many hundreds. Even with the simplest of all the games, slots, they are so much more advanced online than those in brick and mortar establishments. Then, there are things like a VIP casino that players can only play in if they are invited but, once they have received the invite, they can have even more fun.
Is The End Of Physical Casino Near?
Physical casinos still have their benefits but a lot will depend on what part of the world they are in. There are some countries that have them but do not allow online gambling so they are safe for a long while yet. In other countries, such as the UK and some states of the US where online casinos are legal, there may well come a time when they are just too costly to run if the numbers of visitors drop, and then the operators will seriously have to consider if it is worth keeping them open. The likelihood is that that is quite some way off yet, as where else can you move from game to game with such ease, often have free drinks and food and an atmosphere that online sites struggle to replicate?
The constant progress of technology is also playing a big part in the popularity of online casinos. Virtual reality means that a player can be sitting comfortably in their own home and play in a virtual room as though they were actually there with the dealer and other players. Why would they want to go out into the cold night air, in the rain or snow to a physical casino when they can have the same fun in their PJs?
Main Image: ‘Casino!’ – www.david baxendale.com via Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)