For many years the gambling industry remained largely unchanged. Anyone who wanted to place a bet would have to travel in person to a brick and mortar betting shop, while gaming fans could only get their fix by visiting a casino. Then, everyone changed in the 1990s. The explosion in technology and invention of the internet altered the industry for ever. Players could now game online on a laptop or computer, with footfall as betting shops and casinos decreasing. After this initial shift, things took an almighty leap once again in 2007 when smartphones began to enter the market, bringing about the growth of mobile casino games. The emergence of these revolutionary handheld devices gave gamers the opportunity to place their bets no matter where they were – as long as they had an internet connection of course.
It was not just casino operators who took advantage of this spike in mobile gaming. The multi-billion-dollar industry now has a game to suit every niche you can think of. Casino software providers have been majorly influenced by these different games as well.
Back when smartphones first flooded the market, casino apps were a nightmare to use. Many software developers struggled to optimise their websites for the new hardware with load times high and usability incredibly low. However, as time progressed, casino software providers learned lessons from the mobile gaming industry. By the 2010s the quality of mobile casino gaming was steadily rising, mainly thanks to the mobile gaming industry setting a new standard which the gambling industry replicated.
One example is the eye-catching graphics and sounds that casino software companies began to incorporate. In the beginning, gaming apps were bland and non-responsive. Now though, immersion is guaranteed thanks to incredible graphical and auditory advancements, influenced by other mobile gaming developers.
Another obvious way that casino software providers have been influenced by mobile games can be seen by logging onto any reputable online casino and checking out their slots. In this section you are likely to find a swathe of slot machines based on popular mobile games.
Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja and many other mobile gaming classics have received the online slot treatment. Then there’s the slots that take influence from trends in mobile gaming without directly franchising a remake. Candy Crush was once the most popular mobile game in the world. The prevalence of similarly themed games on various online casinos is evidence of operators cashing in on its cool factor.
While the mobile gaming industry has certainly influenced casino software providers down the years, the opposite has also occurred. An increasing number of mobile games have started to introduce virtual currency into their games. Parallels can be drawn between this ‘fake’ money and the chips that you play with at the vast majority of casinos – both in person and online.
Overall, mobile games have always influenced the gambling industry, encouraging casino software providers to make apps more accessible and immersive. Now, the gaming industry is repaying the favour by using some of the casino industry key selling points.
