Our need for socialization and how this helps online casinos to grow
When one thinks of a casino, even historically, the image that probably comes to mind is a lively building, full of sounds and conversation, music, laughter and the occasional shout of frustration. In other words, it almost describes a perfect social atmosphere. It is perhaps because of this, and other factors, that the casino industry has seen an almost continuous rise in popularity and profits throughout the years.
Another reason this social environment works so well is because socialization is one of the things that humans need. Online casinos have seen a similar trend in profits and popularity, but the one thing that has been missing is the social aspect.
This is why the casino industry has recently been focusing on addressing this issue, in a variety of ways. Here are a few ways in which the casino industry is using our need for socialization to help online casinos prosper.
Using social media platforms
It is only relatively recently that social media has been used by industries around the world for advertising and marketing. Before the last decade or so, social media was always seen as something that kept teenagers busy and out of trouble. However, like any other industry, the online casino industry has also turned to social media to continuing profiting.
Advertising related to casino games can be found throughout various social media platforms, including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, with videos of gamers and influencers trying out online casino games. It isn’t uncommon to see promotions on your social media feeds offering no deposit bonuses. Promoting these offers make sense on social media because it makes the user feel like they’re getting something for nothing, but the casinos understand once a payer is on their system they are likely to play again and this is where they will make the money back. Of course this isn’t unique to only social media advertising, you can find no deposit bonuses all over the web – from banner advertisements through to third party review websites like 6Takarakuji.
In addition to this, many social gambling games are hosted by Facebook, and an estimated 61% of people use Facebook to play these games. Social gambling games are free to play, but don’t offer any real money winnings to players, however they do help with conversion rates, as well as make gambling more social.
Gamification
One of the biggest trends that is dominating the online casino industry is gamification, especially with slot games. Gamification is the process of applying themes and elements from video games to casino games. This process started a while ago, with leaderboards displaying top winners similar to those in arcade games, customizable avatars and banners, and anime-like characters that introduce new players to a site.
One genre that promotes socialization is MMORPG’s (massively multiplayer online role-playing game). In these games people will play alongside each other in large open worlds that can be explored, as well as join clans and communicate over headsets or in chat boxes. Online casinos are now attempting to create these games, with a game allowing players to catch monsters, train them and gamble. This was previously attempted in 2010 with a game called Dragon’s Tale, but likely due to online gambling laws at the time and lack of marketing, it didn’t gain traction.
The shift to this kind of genre is very well though-out, since research shows that people who identify with a community’s shared social identity, will affect their norms and behavior. In other words, being in a community that is able to communicate and who share the same social identity, will lead to the normalization of behaviors.
Live table games
When people were first allowed to access gambling games from their computers and laptops, they were able to gamble from home. This obviously came with a string of benefits, such as playing at any time, not needing to travel, being in a comfortable environment and playing at their own pace, to name a few. The one thing that was missing was the feeling of actually being at a casino; until live table games came along.
Live table games gave players the feeling that they were at the casino, even at home, and the ability to communicate with the dealer made it feel even more immersive, while fulfilling social needs, and making players feel less alone. In addition to this, players can communicate with each other using a chat box, further fulfilling social needs. Things like sending gifts or watching friends play a game made users feel socially closer.
The next step, which is currently underway, is virtual reality casinos, which will forever change the online casino industry landscape in terms of socialization, if they are successful.
