Online gaming, to the majority of us, has a clear meaning – it is playing video games using the Internet, often in a competitive environment alongside hundreds of fellow gamers. It is the evolution of video gaming, taking the multiplayer idea and turning it into more than a game you play at home with a handful of friends sitting on the sofa. However, for some people, online gaming means going to an online casino and enjoying the games that can be found there such as slots and table games like poker and baccarat. With these games you have to put down bets and wait to see if you win a prize. In other words, you are gambling. In this article we are going to have a look at the differences and similarities between the two.
Parallel Evolution
The differences are no longer as vivid as they used to be. While online gaming has evolved into the MMORPG era, the developers that are responsible for making online casino games have clearly being getting some tips from those who develop video games as they now include video game design aspects in their casino games. Nowadays, you can find plenty of bonus rounds and side games in casino games that certainly would not look odd in a video game. As a result, the lines between the two have become somewhat blurred.
To those who like to look at the financial side of things, they will find not any difference at all. The annual global revenue from online gaming is estimated to be over $12 billion, but the market definition of this includes MMOGs and any type of games which can be played on the Internet. This includes the likes of online casino games, meaning that the market does not distinguish between the two. In financiers’ opinions, online casino games and MMOs have evolved down the same lines and are definitely linked.
The eSports industry plays a big role in the online gaming sector raking in so much money every year. Betting on eSports is something that has dramatically increased in popularity over the last few years and it is only going to continue to get more popular. eSports are fun to watch by themselves, but as soon as you place some bets, the entertainment levels increase dramatically. More and more people are signing up to eSports betting sites that they recommend than ever before. In fact, some anticipate that this will be one of the sharpest rising betting sectors in the coming years.
More in Common Than We Imagined
There are some gamers out there who will dislike being put into the same group as people who play at online casinos. Those who enjoy RPG video games such as PUBG or Fortnite do not think that they are gamblers. On the other hand, you would probably find many people who love online casino games but would not call themselves online gamers – most likely believe online gamers to be nerdy and uncool. However, if both of them took a little step back for a moment and looked in from the outside, they would realise that they have a lot more in common than first imagined.
For instance, anyone who has spent their own money to purchase a loot box with unknown contents that does not think they are gambling are lying to themselves. Purchasing a random loot box is definitely a form of gambling, and they have already been restricted or banned in a number of countries. Spending your own money on something that has an unknown value and might not improve your gaming experience is exactly what online casino players do whenever they play a casino game.
If you try and distinguish between the two by saying that videogames have progression, levels, characters, and fighting, then you will probably be surprised to find out just how much progress casino games have made over the last couple of years. There are games such as Centurion, where the player has to take a Roman soldier through the different army ranks in order to claim the best prizes. Then there is King Kong Cash, which comes with a bonus game that is very similar to the Donkey Kong that you used to be able to on Nintendo.
In many respects, the biggest different between a casino game and video game is that with the latter the player can earn money while playing, although they are also paying for that pleasure when they are not winning.
IS MMO the Difference?
The only main difference right now between casino gaming and video gaming is that there are no MMO casino games at this moment in time. While this is true, we do not expect it to stay this way for very long. As it stands, there has already been plenty of popular video games that have been turned into casino games. This started with classics such as Tomb Raider and Street Fighter, but nowadays you can also find a Call of Duty casino game. Right now, it is not possible for online casino players to play against hundreds of fellow casino players, but this will soon change.
As technology progresses, and it is doing so at an alarming rate, more online casinos will start to move towards virtual reality. There are many different reasons for this, but the main one is to provide online casino players with an authentic land-based casino experience from the comfort of their own home. When virtual reality is being fully implemented, there will be hundreds and hundreds of casino players playing at the same time. When this is the case, it will become even more difficult to discuss the differences that exist between one type of gaming and the other.
So, what is that makes online video gaming and online casino games different? In 2021, the answer that we can give to this question is “practically nothing”.
