The iGaming industry is one of the fastest growing and most successful entertainment markets online right now. New people are discovering online casinos at a drastic rate, and websites are generating billions of dollars in revenue by the year. A lot of people are questioning why the industry is such a hit right now? After all, online casinos have been around for decades.

One of the main arguments in favor of the success of gambling websites is the gamification of gambling. But, what exactly does gamification mean? More importantly, why does the phenomenon have such an effect on the gambling industry? In this article, we are going to discuss gamification, and how video game techniques shape iGaming’s future.

What is Gamification?

At this point, you might already be able to tell that “gamification” refers to the process of making something appear more like a video game. If you were to spend any amount of time at a site like Party Casino, you will instantly pick up on the tropes and elements that we commonly associate with video games. For example, you might note that players can win achievements while playing, get rewards for reaching certain milestones, etc.

A lot of online casinos have even taken to creating leaderboards, and displaying the most successful players in their midst. These tactics are meant to evoke a competitive spirit. However, any gamer will tell you that they are most commonly identified with the world of gaming. The question is, why do video game techniques have such an effect on online casinos? Well, it all has to do with the target demographic. According to certain studies, experts have discovered that gamers are much more likely to visit an online casino, than a regular casino. Indeed, there seems to be a pretty big crossover between fans of games, and fans of internet gambling. So, it shouldn’t come as a shock to learn that the gamification of online casinos has been such a success. But, what do online casinos have to show for it all? In this article, we are looking at how gamification has impacted online gambling.

Increased Engagement

The most obvious way in which gamification has had an effect on iGaming is enhanced user engagement. Let’s be honest, competition is one of the great motivators. When gamers face off a much better player in a game like Call of Duty, the thrill only inspires them to try harder and win. The same is true for online gambling. Leaderboards naturally draw our attention, because we want to see how good other gamblers are. Some especially competitive players might want to reach those rankings.

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Naturally, in order to reach said rankings, one has to play a lot more often, and of course, get better at their game of choice. Obviously, this is going to drive up a website’s traffic, and boost their engagement. It might even lead to a lot more exposure, causing a lot of other fans to discover the site, and enjoy the slew of gambling games.

Of course, online casinos do their best to make sure that their players are safe, and are gambling responsibly. That is why most gambling websites nowadays collaborate with several organizations dedicated to a safer and better iGaming industry. After all, the ultimate goal is for everyone involved to have fun and be safe, especially the players.

Better Games

For as long as online casinos have been operating, there have been many people who’ve brought up some noteworthy criticisms. One of the most popular ones is that, while great, online casino games can get a bit stale. However, with the gamification of the iGaming industry, this seems to be a problem of the past. We might just see better games pop up in the future. Like the famous skill-based slots, which seem to be the talk of the town on many online casino forums. We all know the history of slot games, and their reputation as an entirely luck-based game. However, these new slots feature interactive gameplay, a variety of themes, and require a lot more engagement, making them quite a lot more interesting.

If slots aren’t your thing, online casinos have also begun creating original table games, based around retro platformers and shooters. The most popular of these is the Fishing Game. In the Fishing Games, players take control of a deep sea diver, who travels to the ocean’s depths, with a harpoon in hand. The game is clearly inspired by Space Invaders, and has garnered a lot of praise recently.

Popular Video Game Techniques

Some may already be aware of the popular video game techniques being implemented at online casinos. But, in case you are new to the industry, we would like to bring up some of the most popular examples of gamification. Throughout this article, we already discussed some of these briefly. However, in this final section, let’s go a bit deeper into detail.

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·         Rankings and Leaderboards

Online casinos might display player rankings, showing the top earners, best players, and more. These rankings could incentivize competition, and engage players more than ever before. Rivalry makes for a great motivator after all.

·         Missions and Challenges

Plenty of video games require the player to achieve certain missions, and offer side challenges. Online casinos have taken a page from this book, and have included missions in their online slot games. Accomplishing some of these missions could lead to rewards, which brings us to our next point.

·         Rewards and Bonus Achievements

By accomplishing some of the missions and challenges, a player might just win a kind of bonus, or a reward. This could manifest as extra spins, some sort of match deposit, or maybe a Scatter or Wild symbol becoming present on the board.

·         Mini-Games

Finally, to make slot games more engaging, online casinos have begun including mini-games. As the name suggests, these are brief segments that require the player to accomplish an extra bit of gameplay, during the downtime between spins. So far, mini-games in slots have been a huge success.