It’s believed that the first virtual casino was developed in 1994 by a man in South Africa by the name of Martin Moshal. Microgaming, his company, launched what is now a multi-billion dollar global industry.
You would hardly recognize a modern mobile casino based on the example set by Microgaming. Thankfully, though the world of mobile gamers is for Martin Moshal’s good work, the technology that we play on today is so much more effortless and intuitive than what was available in the 90s, during the internet’s stone age.
How are real money casino apps innovating?
Mobile Gaming
It’s so easy to forget that true mobile casino gaming was only recently possible. Remember that our world of smartphones, tablets, and now watches, was born in 2007 when Apple released the first iPhone.
Online casinos have more than seized upon the opportunity of mobile games. Not only do gaming mobile apps provide a convenient, self-contained, portable experience but they are also secure and trustworthy ways to play.
Apps often use device-specific security features like fingerprint or face recognition. They can store encrypted data locally instead of in browsers. Many casino apps also include additional verification steps that browser versions might skip.
Ye of the iPhone 16 generation might take this technology for granted. In reality, however, there has been no greater innovation in the world of casino play, since Microgaming first opened its virtual doors.
How Slots Have Changed
One of the biggest and most interesting changes to the world of virtual slots is the development of complex progressive jackpots. Modern online casinos are able to synchronize players from all over the planet.
Often they encourage play with a sprawling combination of different progressive jackpot options. Hourly, daily, mega jackpots are all available to players looking to enhance their experience with the excitement that only a ticking clock can provide.
Progressive jackpots grow as people play. A small portion of each bet goes into the jackpot pool. More players mean bigger jackpots. Timed jackpots must be won within a set period. Hourly jackpots pay out every 60 minutes. Daily jackpots must be claimed before midnight. Mega jackpots have no time limit but grow to huge amounts.
The combination of global interconnectivity and convenience makes for big jackpots that are easily accessible regardless of where you are or what you are doing. You could play for two hours from your couch on a Friday night, or while you wait in line at the DMV, and still win big.
Crypto for the Win
Also impossible when virtual casinos first came to be, was the innovation of crypto slots. Cryptocurrency got its start right around the same time that Apple was filling our pockets and exhausting our fingertips with the first iPhone.
If you’ve been a crypto investor for as long as that, you already won your progressive jackpot in a big bad way. Bitcoin, the first crypto, traded at pennies back in 2008. It’s now worth the upper five figures per Bitcoin.
Online casinos often offer crypto as a currency option because it keeps the transactions secure and streamlined. Banks are often difficult to work with under the best of circumstances and particularly so with online casinos. The rise of crypto slots removes a lot of the pain points from the experience.
Crypto transactions happen almost instantly. No waiting for bank approvals. Players can deposit and withdraw funds 24/7. There are no middlemen taking fees. This means more money stays with the players. Crypto also provides better privacy. You don’t need to share your banking details with the casino. Some players prefer this anonymity.
Many online casinos now accept multiple cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin is the most common. But Ethereum and Litecoin are popular too. Some sites even create their own casino tokens. These specialized coins can offer extra benefits to players. The technology keeps improving each year. This makes crypto gambling easier for beginners to try.
Looking Ahead
Casino apps that pay have transformed so much over the last thirty years. Certainly, they have evolved more than their land-based counterparts. Virtual and augmented reality are both technologies that could influence the future of mobile play.
Using headsets or other specialized hardware, these technologies may be able to provide a much more robust visual experience than your phone or laptop screen. Some virtual casinos are already introducing these features. That’s a trend you can expect to see continued in the next few years.
And of course, AI integrations will also be impactful in shaping the way that people experience mobile casinos. While it’s too early to say exactly how, expect artificial intelligence to provide a more intuitive, personalized experience.
Here’s what we can say for sure. Time and technology have only improved mobile slots and other casino games. That’s a trend that will only continue.
