Almost every kind of gambling games such as slot machines, card tables or roulettes, have moved from the real world to the virtual one. Of course, not entirely. Or at least, not physically. Virtual casinos and online gambling have been a force to reckon with over the past years, and it looks like things aren’t going to go down anytime soon. People that have never actually walked in a casino, have the opportunity to join one online. But what about the real, physical business of gambling? Will it survive? Or will people give away the pleasure of gambling in a real casino, enjoying drinks and actually feel everything from chips to cards and buttons for a complete virtual reality? Paradoxically, many companies that offer internet-based gambling services, have also started to invest in real estates, and physical gambling facilities. This means that, for now, we definitely can’t talk about a complete separation of real and virtual world. But what are the advantages and disadvantages of real life and virtual casinos?
Here are some ups and downs of both:
Getting there
While going to your favorite casino can sometimes result in hours of driving, losing precious gambling time, with the virtual casino at hand, all you have to do is get your favorite virtual device and “plug yourself in”. Even if that device is an “Oculus Rift”, or a simple monitor screen, getting in and out of a virtual casino can be as easy as turning a television on and off.
Once you got there
So, you logged into your account and moments later, you wake up into a virtual casino. Walk around (if you can) choose your games and play, bet, gamble. Quite notable, are the social interactions one can make in a virtual casino, by talking to the other players, a new feature that’s constantly evolving. But this time, reality wins. You can’t enjoy a free drink in a virtual casino, and even if you do, it’s virtual. Social interactions are far more complex into the real world, where you have the chance of analyzing your social partner, and interact with him in a infinite number of ways. The smell of the place, the atmosphere, and all the other little things that make reality what it is, are far from being present into the virtual world, or at least for now. Should we wait for maybe 10-15 years more, for technology to set foot and fix things up, but not even then, may reality be fully compensated.
Betting and gambling
At first look, it might not be different. Invest, bet, gamble. Loose or win. Invest more money again, or take all the winnings. While casinos are fully rigged with cameras and people supervising the whole gambling area, the virtual casinos rely on powerfull softwares, that try to prevent frauds like those related to credit-card informations, or cheating the games. Real life casinos might just have a win on this one. Why? Consider poker for example: you might feel better gambling from a device that separates you from other players; but then again, how can you take advantage of body language? You can’t tell by the moves of the virtual player, if he’s bluffing, if he’s loosing, or if he knows he has an advantage. A virtual player will have a limited, repetitive number of moves, while the real life player can be much more of a stimulation. But then again, slots for example don’t rely on body language at all. So, if certain people are a bit shy, or think they will be judged if seen into a real life casino, the virtual gambling method you could do from literally anywhere, might be a better option.
Costs
A virtual casino requires no employees to run (except the people in the background of the software)no people to clean up, stay up all night running the casino, or other employees one might find in a casino. It requires much less than a real life one does. And being in a “virtual land” it can be accessed from anywhere, without requiring the physical presence of one into a specific place.
Overall it might be just a thing of choice. Most of the people that joined online casinos, have already visited a real one, and vice versa. The best thing about this, is that both types complete each other, where one has a flaw, the other one might just have the answer to that. As long as everyone enjoys gambling properly, it’s all a matter of preference.
