Gambling has been a part of America’s national image ever since Las Vegas invented itself as the city of sin. However, most parts of the U.S. have worked hard to reduce the amount of online gambling going on in their states. This doesn’t mean that there won’t be more in the future, though. One of the top tech trends of the present gambling scene may be electronic and online. The way that these different machines and types of games proliferate may lead to a boom in the gambling industry, or at least very different groups of people trying to make money gambling at new casinos.
Online poker
Online card playing has had a huge effect on poker. Part of the popularity of poker now, down to its premier on networks like ESPN, can be considered to come at least partially from its playing online. Online poker players have a different set of skills, according to Bill Rini, head of WSOP’s online poker division, which has lead to more mobile applications for players. Some of these casinos now offer the ability to simultaneously play two hands of poker – one physical and one digital – in order to provide an experience more similar to solitary, online poker.
Online poker has brought new life to the game.
This could potentially have damaging effects on the upcoming generation’s finances, however. Australian youths are wracking up five digit debts through online betting on races. The allure of easy gambling through online portals can make it easy for people to wind up spending a lot of money in them. In fact, the University of Sydney’s Gambling Treatment Clinic has said that they are seeing more young people than ever before thanks to online sports bets.
“Online card playing has had a huge effect on poker.”
Will regulation be put in place?
Online poker, unlike physical gambling, can exist anywhere. Anyone on a computer could theoretically be using it to gamble. This makes it very difficult to effectively legislate away online gambling. Instead, many states are looking at introducing regulation to keep it from taking on overly abusive forms. Current bills, including those in California, are directed at barring underage players from participating, keeping bets local to a specific state, and identifying problem gamblers so that they can be helped. Part of the issue is that there are many different parts of the gambling industry interested in securing the future for their type of casino. Tribes, card rooms, and tracks are all interested in making sure that new legislation will benefit themselves the most.
Videogame gambling
The final new wave of gambling may look more like arcade machines than slots. New, “skill-based” machines are designed to bring in younger gamblers, just like online poker has done. Unlike the other types of gambling mentioned above, this will be primarily located within current, brick-and-mortar casinos. The listed ideas for these games includes shooting aliens, racing, and other classic videogame-style actions. Whether or not they effectively bring in new blood into casinos, or if they’ll be dismissed out of hand, remains to be seen.
