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Online gambling has changed beyond recognition since the early days, and exciting online slots have been at the forefront of this evolution! Internet use has likewise changed since the early days of online gambling:
- More people use mobile devices
- 5G connectivity has become more widespread
- Graphics cards have vastly improved
- More people are online!
- More apps
- More browsers
The online gambling industry has adapted just as the internet has adapted and at times has been a leader in technological innovation on the internet. In this article, we’ll talk about the different platforms and devices that continue to drive such innovation and the key technologies that allow this multifaceted world of online slot gaming.
On The Go Gaming
By far the biggest transition to consumer habits in recent years has been the portable nature of the internet. Smartphones and tablets are more powerful than ever before. How powerful you may wonder? If you have a modern smartphone, it is exponentially more powerful than the computer that NASA used for the moon landings. That’s quite incredible to comprehend and it’s no wonder therefore that the online slots industry has moved along with this trend. Game design has been reapproached so that designs are responsive (i.e. the game fits neatly into the phone screen). No more zooming in and out of desktop designs on your phone in 2024! Catering to this further, many online casinos now offer mobile apps so that you can immediately gain access to your account and start spinning the slots. Mobile responsive websites are so good nowadays though then it remains to be seen whether we will see a move away from app-centric design.
Desktop Gaming Still Thrives
Ok, so now everyone has a supercomputer in the palm of their hands which means that desktop gaming is dead now, right? Not quite! Despite the exponential growth of mobile-centric gaming, desktops are still incredibly popular with online casino players. You see, graphics cards are more powerful than ever which means that some people cannot resist the rich, immersive experience that desktop gaming provides. Larger screens, entertaining animations and riveting sound effects are just part of the equation that has players coming back and sitting down at their desks to play online slots. Let’s talk about some of these in more detail:
Phenomenal Graphics and Exciting Animations
The more screen that developers have to play with, then the more impressive graphics and animations that they can incorporate. A challenge for them is to maintain the same standards for the mobile responsive versions, but sometimes you just can’t beat the rich immersive experience that desktop slot games provide. This really goes up a notch when playing video slots and hitting a bonus level. Bonus levels in online slot games have become almost minigames on their own with complex storylines, interactive gameplay and visual excitement.
Sounds and Licensed Music
Speakers on handset devices have vastly improved in recent years, but they’re no match for the external subwoofer setups that many desktop computing hobbyists have at their desks. One trend in recent years in the online slots industry has seen more and more branded slots where licensed music and scenes are incorporated. For example, Guns and Roses, as well as Motorhead have slot games with some of their biggest hits forming part of the game. This provides a great experience for avid fans.
Technologies at the Forefront of Adaptation
So online slots are now responsive to a plethora of device types from laptops, to desktops to mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. What technologies have enabled this seamless transition? Take a look at this table for a short summary of what is the glue of modern slots adaptation and platform-centric implementation:
| HTML 5 | Cloud Storage | 5G | Fibre Optic Broadband | Artificial Intelligence and Predictive Analytics |
| Replaced Flash as a technology for creating visually rich animations and interactive capabilities. | Enables players to continue games on other devices and have all of their history saved to their account, rather than the device. | The technology that is at the forefront of the smartphone revolution. Mobile internet speeds are faster than ever before. | Creating a faster and more connected internet than ever before. Previously, dial-up broadband was too slow to power slots with complex graphics and animations. | Using playing preferences to recommend certain games and also a key technology for identifying problem gambling. |
What’s Next?
Technology is rarely predictable and who would have thought that handsets would start getting bigger again? As technologies evolve, some are trying to predict where online slots and gambling will follow. Here are some possible advancements:
- Virtual Reality (VR) – players could use VR headsets to fully immerse themselves into virtual casinos and video slots. This could be a richer and more immersive experience than ever before
- Wearable Tech – will we see wearables utilized for online slots? Players could use their watches to gesture spinning on a game, or perhaps augmented reality glasses will become more widely accessible and become a bridge to VR gaming
- More AI – AI is becoming more and more powerful. Will we see games entirely personalized to each user? Perhaps games will become more interactive than ever before with powerful AI behind storylines and adaptation
