The world of iGaming is going through a period of tremendous growth, with revenues growing around the world as well as here in the US.
The latest figures reported by Forbes suggest that revenues gained from the US casino and gaming app market rose in 2021 by more than 20% topping $50 billion. That is partly due to physical casinos facing restricted opening in the early part of the year, but also the evolution of the product offered to consumers.
That demonstrates the significant opportunity that developers had when people were confined to their homes with only electronic devices for entertainment, and it was during that period we saw the iGaming industry, as it is known, grow rapidly. Developers encouraged gamers to pick up their tablets and phones, not only through traditional casino games such as poker and roulette but also an array of other exciting game types not usually found in a casino. Some presented gamers with a new, social aspect, such as the live-streamed casino games, whilst others took older games and either repackaged or reshaped them to appeal to a new generation.
The ever-developing technology within the industry allows developers to create some unique experiences for gamers to enjoy. Here we’ll list some of those different titles that players are embracing.
Slingo
Slingo is one of the newest genres in terms of its origins in casino play. It was only created in 1996 but has since exploded into life online after initially being a free-to-play game on the online web portal AOL. It’s a hybrid game featuring two popular casino staples; bingo, and slots. The game contains a 5×5 grid like a bingo card with the slots below, and with each spin of the slots, you are given the numbers as a bingo caller would provide. The aim of the game is to fill your card before you run out of spins. After being brought to the casino space, it’s been ramped up to another level, with many different games and themes enhancing the experience. It’s perfectly demonstrated in the Slingo games from Gala Spins, such as Fire and Ice and Slingone Fishing, which offer an absorbing and very thematic gameplay environment that is enhanced with bonus features. For example, Slingone Fishing offers players free spins with a ship’s wheel dropping onto their card, or a pink squid is a super wild which allows players to mark any number from their card. It’s these extra elements to the game which bring a literal new spin on two well-established concepts, and as a result, they continue to lure players in for more, time and time again.
War
War is one of the simplest yet most effective games that players can participate in online, as it’s a card game which is easy to learn, and is quick, so players are always engaged in it. Although the game played online has been adopted a little from the original, which is played by just two players outside of the casino, up to eight players can enjoy the digital variant. The simple premise in the game is to have a card with a higher value than the dealer, and the value of the cards is ranked like poker, so a two would be a low card with an ace being high. The ‘war’ element of the game comes into play if two players have the same value card, either can surrender and get half their stake back or elect to go to war. In the latter case, the players must double their stake, the dealer distributes new cards, and the process starts again, with the highest value card being the winner. As with other online casino games, you can find some that are branded with images of war, although in the main it is staged as a poker or blackjack game would be, very traditional.
Live Game Shows
We’ve all seen game shows such as Wheel of Fortune, since they’ve been a staple of our television experience for as long as broadcasters have been putting out content. Throughout the years, people have sat at home believing they could do better if they were on. That popularity, combined with new technology, drew online casino providers to ape the shows on their platforms, with great success. There are many reasons an online game show works; firstly the branding. People see a spinning wheel and immediately think ‘Wheel of Fortune’ – it’s been on our screens since 1983 and is as American as Apple Pie and Uncle Sam. It isn’t the only show that gets an online casino rendition; some are twists on the old shows and themed as many online slots are. There’s also the challenge of finally being put in control, and the lure of interacting with another person, usually a live dealer, which draws people in. How could game shows not be a hit? Online providers had already used the branding of shows such as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and Deal or No Deal in their slot games, so why not take it one further? Today, developers have littered their sites with these types of games, proving they’re popular.
As you can see, there is much more to a modern online casino than you may have first expected. For more exciting articles like this and guides to other popular games, remember to keep checking back with us at Gamers Menu.