Metaverse casinos, the future of online gambling?
Metaverse casinos combine virtual reality (VR), cryptocurrency, and web3 technology to create a life-like and immersive online gambling experience. Gamblers no longer need to travel to Las Vegas to experience the thrill of in-person table and slot games; the Vegas experience can now be convincingly recreated in their living room.
However, this concept is only in its infancy and hasn’t yet been widely adopted. For it to become popular in the UK, casinos based in the country would first have to start accepting cryptocurrency. Kane Pepi, who writes expert ratings for non-Gamstop casinos, states that crypto banking is not currently offered by any casino regulated by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). He also claims that this fact is unlikely to change in the future.
On the other hand, non-Gamstop casinos – i.e., casinos that can be used while a player is signed up for the Gamstop self-exclusion programme – already widely accept cryptocurrencies. These sites operate offshore, meaning they don’t need to abide by UKGC regulations, which is why they’ve been quicker in adopting crypto. Will offshore casinos bring metaverse casinos into the mainstream?
What are metaverse casinos?
Metaverse casinos are virtual gambling facilities found in metaverse worlds such as Sandbox and Decentraland. Plots of land within these worlds have recently been bought by online casinos with the intent of constructing virtual casinos. When you put on a VR helmet and enter the Sandbox, you can visit these virtual casinos. VR and augmented reality combine to give you a realistic impression of entering a brick-and-mortar casino.
Once you enter, you can explore the casino’s interior, just as you would in real life. You can walk past the casino’s selection of slot and table games, interact with other visitors, and generally soak up the casino atmosphere.
As metaverse casinos develop, virtual entertainment events will likely be held within them – just as brick-and-mortar casinos provide live entertainment.
The benefits of metaverse casinos
Metaverse casinos are an exciting new concept and will likely increase the popularity of online casinos. Already, physical casinos are struggling to compete with the convenience of casino apps. Metaverse casinos come with a whole host of other benefits, which include the following:
Crypto integration
In the metaverse, everything is digitised – including the currency. In these virtual casinos, players deposit and withdraw funds using crypto. They also receive bonuses – such as sign-up bonuses and deposit bonuses – in the form of crypto. Cryptocurrency is the preferred transaction of metaverse casinos due to the quick transaction processes, transparency, and convenience offered.
Security
Each transaction completed in metaverse casinos is done through blockchain technology and smart contracts. This ensures that each transaction is transparent and encrypted. All exchanges are recorded on the blockchain, meaning that all exchanges are immutable. Plus, players don’t have to enter their bank details or personal information, meaning that hackers have nothing to steal should they infiltrate the system.
Social engagement
Within the virtual casino, gamers can walk right up to other players and interact with them. This creates a convincingly life-like casino experience. While standard online casinos come with chat rooms, they are incomparable to the socialisation opportunities found in metaverse casinos.
Will metaverse casinos become more widespread soon?
As mentioned above, metaverse casinos haven’t yet taken off. This is partially because mainstream online casinos have yet to accept crypto as a payment means. For metaverse casinos to work, cryptocurrency is needed for deposits and withdrawals. UK-based casinos would have to first start accepting Bitcoin and Ethereum before offering metaverse functionality.
However, as non-Gamstop and other offshore casinos become more popular, crypto gambling and metaverse casinos will become more widespread as a result.
Another aspect that’s holding metaverse casinos back is the limited adoption of VR. When they were first released, VR helmets were expensive and out of most iGamers’ budget. As the years have passed, helmets have gradually fallen in price. Soon, they’ll be more affordable, which won’t only boost metaverse gambling but also metaverse gaming at large.
The VR headset market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 30.6 percent between 2023 and 2030. This suggests that they’re expected to become more popular in the coming years.
Once the above conditions are met, metaverse casinos could well take over as the leading casino option for gamblers.
