A MORE DIVERSE AUDIENCE

Hey there, replicants! A few weeks ago, I spent a few hours just lying in bed thinking about what the future of online casinos might hold while I was supposed to be sleeping. Sure, the next morning I could barely get up for work, as I’d only had about 3-4 hours of sleep, but considering the fact that I reached some pretty interesting conclusions which ultimately inspired this site, I’d say it was worth it! I’m going to share my ideas about the future in a series of articles, each examining a different subject. You ready? Let’s get cracking!

Online Casinos And… Videogames?

I believe that videogames and online casino games have a lot of common. Obviously, there’s the whole “both are games” thing, but I’m more referring to their history. In the early 1980s, the videogame market had already crashed, and no one was really interested in videogames. To hook new players up, Nintendo decided to promote the NES – their first videogame console (well, technically second, but the first one was a Pong game, and those don’t count) – as a toy rather than as a console. Kids knew toys, so they’d also get to know this new one, right? The plan worked spectacularly, making the NES one of the most fondly remembered videogame consoles of all time (just look at how many games are coming out right now with similar 8-bit graphics) and launching a renaissance for modern gaming. Casino games actually employed many of the same tactics in order to attract their own customers – after a pretty bad start, online casinos soon began to cater to the hardcore casino crowd, as they were already familiar with the concept of casinos and would appreciate the convenience of playing from home. Both of these markets hooked their audience with familiarity, but that can only get you so far.

Diversification of the Videogame Audience

In the mid 2000s, videogames faced another crisis. The costs of developing games for newer hardware rose significantly, but the market could not support it. After all, anyone who possibly wanted to get into videogames (mostly young men – the audience that had grown up with the NES or other systems released around the same time) was already into videogames. The market was not expanding, at least not at a rate that could sustain the development cost. And then Nintendo had another brilliant idea, courtesy of its president, the great Satoru Iwata (1959-2015). While Sony and Microsoft were making their systems more powerful than ever, Nintendo developed in a different direction – approachability. Their new system, the Wii, was designed to not only appeal to gamers, but to everyone. Knowing that traditional control schemes would be too hard for most people to learn, Iwata requested that the Wii be controlled by motion, which is obviously a concept that anyone can understand. The plan was a massive success, as suddenly not only teens and young men were interested in videogames, but also young kids, girls and whole families, even senior citizens! The gaming industry was reborn, and today it is as diverse as it’s ever been, with people of all genders, ages and ethnicities enjoying it.

So, What Does This Have to Do With Casinos?

Currently, online gambling is in a very similar crisis. Everyone who could possibly be interested in it is already playing, or has attempted it and lost interest. The market isn’t growing, at least not at a desirable rate. Meanwhile, development costs rise with every year as audience expectations grow. People request stable mobile versions on multiple platforms, good-looking and technically sound games and 24/7 online support, all of which cost a lot of money on top of the already very expensive costs that come with hosting a giant casino site. Many casino sites are reporting diminished profits, with some forced into partnerships or buy-outs in order to stay in the business. But that’s a temporary solution to a permanent problem, because there’s only so many people you can appeal to by attracting the casino audience. In order to make their business sustainable, very soon casinos will need to take a page from Nintendo’s book and start to appeal to the regular Joe and Jill. Imagine a world where online casinos aren’t a niche, a world where almost everyone plays a few slots on the john before work, where your grandma asks you to set up her bingo account and you and your co-workers share tips about the best online casinos at the water cooler. That’s the world that has to happen in order for online casinos to be sustainable and profitable in the future. And, with the right marketing, perhaps it’s more real than any of us can imagine. I guess it’s only a matter of time before online gambling finds its Satoru Iwata.

-Deckard