When you think of gambling, the first image that comes to your mind is probably a crowded bookmaker shop, or perhaps James Bond playing poker in a fancy casino in Monte Carlo. However, rather than a niche pastime for horse racing fans or an international spy, gambling has become increasingly ubiquitous in the modern age, and arcade-style games are a big part of the transformation.
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A digital age
The growth of the internet has inevitably transformed a plethora of industries, and technological advances have benefited the gambling sector more than most. Researchers say that the global online gambling market size was worth roughly $53.7 billion in 2019, and is expected to grow exponentially year-on-year. It is fair to say that the online betting market is a big deal and will continue to grow in the near future.
Looking to arcade games for inspiration
Source: Unsplash
In some cases, gamblers are playing exactly the same games online that they have been playing in casinos for a number of decades. For example, online poker is more popular than ever, with other traditional offerings like blackjack and roulette also among the most played games on online betting sites. Online betting offerings don’t start and end with traditional casino games, though. Consumers expect to have more choice in the digital age after all, and the old school casino games are not for everyone.
Nowadays, every major betting site hosts dozens of arcade-style video games, giving consumers the chance to play a well-produced online video game with the chance of winning some money. Games on offer include many different types, like ancient quest style games, games based on major motion pictures, and TV shows, and practically any other game type you can think of.
The success of online gambling has several different factors – the unprecedented ease of use, removing the social anxiety some have about entering a casino, and many more elements, social, technological, and otherwise. That said, there is no doubt that the numerous well-made online games on offer have helped to widen the appeal of the online gaming industry around the world.
Industries intertwine
The gambling and video game industries have been moving closer and closer together for some time. The graphics and mechanics of many online betting games would put some dedicated video games from the past to shame. An academic paper from Jeffrey Derevensky and Mark Griffiths recently argued that, “both gambling and gaming activities have become recognized as sharing similar features at structural and aesthetic levels, especially with the advent of online gambling and gaming.” With this in mind, the scope for the development of the online casino sector knows no bounds, with innovations being made in the further gaming industry evidently echoing into the progression of the gambling world.
On the face of it, you might think that arcade games have already enjoyed their day in the sun. However, with the rise of gaming bars and their clear influence on the online gambling market, it would be premature to claim that arcade games are a thing of the past just yet, with their very aesthetics being used to spark new-retro life into many varied forms of digital entertainment.
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