Since first achieving mainstream popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, video games remain popular worldwide, with the market expected to generate total revenue of around US$396.20bn this year. Video gaming has come a long way from the analog arcade machines of days gone by. Still, the market has also significantly influenced (and taken its own cues from) the evolution of casinos, sports betting, and iGaming platforms as we know them today. Following the initial online casino boom of the 1990s, we’ve seen the online gambling market adapt to and utilise the latest new tech trends – in 2023, there’s no denying the transformative impact that developments in mobile, metaverse, and VR technologies have had on the world of online casinos and video gaming as a whole. Let’s take a closer look at the common ground currently shared by the constantly evolving online gambling and video gaming markets:
The Collision of eSports, Online Casinos & Video Games
While online sports betting and online casinos have always gone hand-in-hand, we’ve seen growing intersectionality between these and video gaming over the years. This includes more multi-functional iGaming platforms (where users may get the latest odds, bet on their favourite sports and play online casino games within the same site) and a wider range of sports-themed iGaming titles across the board. The esports market has also grown exponentially in recent years, partly due to increased fantasy sports betting and gambling during national lockdowns. When browsing the top casino recommendations, you’re likely to find a wide array of slot machine game titles that follow an esports theme, as well as poker games, digital card games and classic casino table titles. The growing accessibility of smartphones has incurred a shift to mobile iGaming and widespread gamification. In 2023, many online casino games look like high-quality video games, using 3D graphics, tailored themes, reward-based threads, and even narratives to propel gameplay.
Enjoy the Best Sports-Themed Slots at Online Casinos
Many of the best sports slots have been provided by industry-leading online casino software and gaming developers such as Yggdrasil, Thunderkick, Play’n GO, Microgaming, and Betsoft. Whether you’re into football, fishing, boxing, or bowling, you will find a slot machine game based on your chosen sport in 2023. Some of the most popular sports-themed slots currently on the market include Alaskan Fishing, Super Sumo, Roberto Carlos Sporting Legends, Break Away Deluxe, and D10S Maradonna. Other leading sports-themed casino games currently doing the rounds include 5 Boxing, Ping Pong King, Football Star Deluxe, Let’s Get Ready to Rumble, and Pacquiao One Punch KO. If you’re on the lookout for online casinos and where to play the most exciting sports-themed slots around, Haz Casino’s impressive offers could be just the ticket. Boasting an impressive selection of over 6000 online casino games, including over 5000 top-quality slots, Haz Casino could be the perfect online casino for those who enjoy spinning the reels. As well as all of the blockbuster slot machine titles that you might expect from a new online casino (big-name games such as Starburst, Buffalo King Megaways, Book of Dead, and Dragon King), there is also a wide range of sports-themed titles to choose from. Sporty slots worth looking out for on the site include Yggdrasil Gaming’s Firekick Multimax and Evoplay offerings, such as Penalty Shoot Out, Pride Fight, and Penalty Series.
The Growing Reliance on Metaverse Tech
In recent years, a few emerging tech trends, like metaverse, have notably impacted the world of iGaming. Numerous commentators are touting metaverse casinos as the future of online gaming due to their notable influence. This is because the metaverse enables gamers to meaningfully interact and buy, sell, and trade digital items using the IoT. The metaverse’s intrinsic support of emerging disruptive Web3 technologies such as blockchain, cryptocurrency, and NFTs holds vast potential for a range of diverse industries, from education and finance to entertainment and healthcare. Most notably, the growth of metaverse tech has had a transformative impact on video gaming, iGaming, and sports betting online.
The developer of the blockbuster franchise Fortnite and the ubiquitous Unreal Engine, Epic Games invested in CLO Fashion recently, citing the importance of digital garments in the future of online entertainment and metaverse-based gaming platforms. This latest partnership indicates a trend of developers branching out into other industries, emphasising the metaverse, avatars, and NFTs. We’ve already seen casino software giants WMG team up with the NFT marketplace OpenSea and music industry stalwarts Universal Music Group partner up with avatar tech company Genies to create virtual identities and NFTs for their artists. In a similar move, Warner Music Group has teamed up with DRESSX intending to make virtual fashion lines for artists on the roster. It’s also worth noting that sports-based video games and mobile titles have long employed avatars and skins to generate extra income and enable players to customise their experience better.
The Increasing Use of Virtual Reality Tech
VR has been in the making since the 1970s, but the tech has only started to achieve household status in recent years. The recent release of the long-awaited VR/AR headset, the Apple Vision Pro, signifies a levelling of the market, with other relatively affordable options currently for sale, including the HTC Vive, PSVR 2, and Meta Quest 2.
The plus points of playing video games and online casino games via VR headsets are obvious – VR provides a fully immersive and realistic gaming experience perfectly suited to various genres, formats, and game types. VR could also increase physical activity when gaming online, meeting, socialising, and interacting with like-minded players and iGaming communities more efficiently. Moreover, incorporating robotizing material-matching for motion pictures and computer games further enhances the potential of virtual reality technology. As VR technology becomes more accessible, we will likely see a further flurry of game titles optimised for headsets designed for everyday household use. Some of the most popular casino games that have been given the VR treatment include Gonzo’s Quest, Starburst, and Casino VR Poker, with leading VR casino platforms including SlotsMillion and Social Club VR. While VR casinos remain relatively niche, plenty of immersive video game titles are available to enjoy with your headset – not surprising considering that gaming was the initial port of call for the tech. Our selection of popular VR video games in 2023 includes Gran Turismo 7 (PSVR 2), No Man’s Sky (PSVR, PSVR 2, Steam VR), Iron Man VR (Quest 2, PSVR), and Population One (Steam VR, Quest 2). Sports-themed VR games worth playing this year include What The Bat (PSVR 2, Steam VR, Quest 2), Walkabout Mini Golf (PSVR, Quest 2, Steam VR), and Eleven Table Tennis (Steam VR, Quest 2).
The Future of Video Games and iGaming
It’s now possible to access high-powered video games, online casino games, and sports betting sites on your mobile at the touch of a button, enjoying top-notch graphics and gameplay only previously confined to game consoles and PCs. Only time will tell what the future holds for the iGaming, esports, and video gaming markets. VR and metaverse technologies are already working to propel their development and evolution.
