Will Online Gambling Ever Surpass The Real Thing
Everywhere you look today, people have their noses buried in their phones playing mobile games and using apps. Is it any wonder that gambling websites are trying to get a piece of the action? Many people play free versions of bingo, poker, and slots on their phones. What’s to stop them from turning that free play into play that can get them a little beer money?
The primary stumbling block is regulation, but that appears to be changing in the U.S. New Jersey, Delaware, and Nevada have legalized the practice, and several other states are considering legalizing it. In other countries, online gaming is a very popular practice. Bingo in particular. UK has lots of online bingo sites to cater to the surprising large crowd over there.
If it’s just a matter of time before online gambling becomes legal, one question casinos might be asking is whether or not online gambling may take over the real thing. For some games like Bingo or Keno, it might, but we think for others there’s a social element that cannot be ignored.
Even if our phones were to get fancy enough to show multiple streaming videos from different people all playing the same game, there is still something special about getting together around with a group of real people and looking each other in the eye while you play for cash. No phone experience could ever replace that. There’s also tactile elements to playing gambling games in real life. The tactile feel of cards and felt, the weight of chips and dice.
There is also questions of skill. Poker is a game of skill and there’s something honest about knowing that the deck is a real deck and not something that’s generated by a random number generator. Legitimate online gaming sites do certify their random number generators with the same companies that certify for slot machines and video poker machines. But there’s still an element of mistrust. You can never be quite sure whether the software will always be accurate. And if you’re trying to play a game of skill where the cards must be accurate every time, that’s a worry.
On the other hand, consider a game like bingo. Online bingo is probably the most popular form of online gambling. Playing it online has several advantages over playing it in a bingo hall. First, it’s a much more social game. Bingo halls can be grimly quiet during play with even the slightest peep considered a call for bingo. You also don’t have to worry about cigarette smoke or the weird superstitions many regular players get when they start playing for a while. Plus, you can play it at anytime with people all around the world.
So, while we don’t think casinos have anything to worry about, bingo halls might want to start thinking about other options once the regulations starts changing here. What do you think? Do you think mobile gambling will overtake the real thing?
The opinions expressed in this article are the Michael’s from BingoMania.com and do not necessarily reflect the view gamesreviews.com editorial staff.