Exploring Hybrid Casinos – The Next Step For Online Gambling?
Aside from providing quality gambling entertainment to the masses, something that casinos have always been particularly good at is adapting to keep a step ahead of the curve. This can be seen with the huge growth in popularity of casinos over the decades thanks to new technologies, most recently being the highly successful online casinos. As innovations continue to emerge, another popular new trend is swiftly becoming hybrid casinos.
What Are They?
In essence, a hybrid casino is a traditional style land-based casino, with actual casino tables and dealers, that is live-streamed to players via the internet. All of the game’s features and betting is done online, while the dealer operates the game in real-time, as a casino dealer normally would.
Another common name for this is “live dealer” casinos. Hybrid casinos, however, take the concept a step further, combining it with crypto-based gambling, as well as various popular new hybrid casino games and gameshows.
Why Is It Becoming So Popular?
As the world moves swiftly towards an online era, the great land-based casinos of old have steadily been losing customers to the newer, more convenient, online casino industry. Places like Las Vegas and Macau, though still highly popular tourist destinations, steadily have to rely on their fame to stay afloat.
As it turns out though, the convenience of online gambling is a key factor, both as a reason for their decline, as well as a potential salvation. Though digital online games certainly have their own appeal and convenience, live dealer hybrid casinos are providing what many online players apparently miss. Such as an authentic casino setting and feel, with an actual real dealer providing some company, and the use of real-world chance. Digital games use something called an RNG, random number generator, to digitally produce the effect of chance, a trusted method used throughout digital technology. Nonetheless, many still prefer to take their chances with the more traditional methods of drawing cards, rolling dice, or spinning the roulette wheel.
Popular old game shows, such as ‘Deal or No Deal’, are also being reinvigorated through hybrid casinos, adding to its appeal, as well as fun new hybrid games like ‘slingo’, a mixture of bingo and slots. All the above, complemented by the convenience and security of crypto, is aiding in the growing success of hybrid casinos.
Many land-based casinos in Vegas, Macau, and elsewhere, are now beginning to see the advantage of joining the hybrid trend and will likely begin focusing on it more and more as they gradually adapt and transition.
Will It Become A New Standard?
With its current rate of success, there is little doubt that hybrid casinos will play a meaningful part in the popularity and development of the online casino South Africa industry and beyond in the years to come. Most likely it will continue to adapt and change, combining other exciting and useful technologies, like virtual and augmented reality, and the ‘metaverse’, to become ever-more popular and established as a successful niche.
