A Glimpse into the Casino of the Future GAMBLERS March 14, 2019 Home Picture the scene: You enter your local casino, where you spot a few familiar faces. The music is not to your liking, so you click your fingers and it changes to your favourite album. You catch a glimpse of your reflection in the mirrored hallway. You’re wearing the same tuxedo as last night, so another click and it changes to one you’ve not worn before. You’re looking good. You find a seat at a table, but the croupier is the one that dealt you a bad hand last night. You make a quick request and the dealer is replaced. Now, it’s time to get down to business and play. Tonight, it’s blackjack. You have the option to play a hand or bet behind another player at the table; the choice is yours as it always is. You can tell by the medals on the player next to you that they are on a winning streak, and you decide to take them on. Twenty minutes later, the whole place has gone quiet as they stop what they are doing to watch you clean up. You quit while you are on top, and the place erupts into applause. You end the game, take off your VR headset and slip into bed. That was a good night at the casino. The best of both worlds In the future, the casino-going experience could be very similar to how it was in the past, as virtual reality allows us to recreate the best elements of land-based casinos and combine them with the advantages of online live casino games; the ability to interact with real human dealers, ‘bet behind’ others and view events in high-definition slow motion. When the Arctic Monkeys penned Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, an album that imagines a futuristic luxury casino resort on the moon and tells the tale of the various characters within, it is unclear whether the location is physical or virtual. But in the future, it is feasible that casinos could offer both under one roof. Those who wish to visit in person to receive the authentic experience can do so, while those who want to visit the same establishment from the comfort of their own home can also do so via their virtual reality headsets. The physical visitors will be able to interact with the avatars of the virtual visitors, while the virtual guests will be able to manipulate their surroundings (decor, music etc.) to suit their own personal tastes. Amongst all this, there will be some serious gaming going on, all conducted by live dealers who service both types of guests. The future could revive the past Virtual reality technology not only opens up the possibility for players to play live casino games from the comfort of their own homes, but it also raises the prospect that traditional land-based establishments could experience a revival by acting as host locations for virtual players while also catering for physical guests. Welcome to the future of live casino gaming – but remember: What happens in virtual Vegas, stays in virtual Vegas!
