When you look at the iGaming industry categorically, there isn’t a lot of room for evolution. When the first online casinos went live in 1994, their mission was to revolutionise the casino industry, opening up the floor to millions more players who want to play games like Blackjack and Roulette, but aren’t in the vicinity of a land-based casino – or don’t have the time to visit as much as they’d like.
Keywords were: convenience, accessibility, and variety, and over the last thirty years, the iGaming industry has achieved all of them. In 2024, anyone can pick up their phone, log onto an online casino, and start playing in a matter of seconds. With alternative payment methods, data-driven personalisation, and solutions like those offered by GammaStack, the industry has only kept innovating, ensuring that they don’t only achieve these qualities but excel in them and evolve further.
How much further can they go? Of course, there are always going to be ways to increase personalisation and boost the quality of games available across platforms, but when it comes to convenience, accessibility, and variety, the landscape of innovation is surely looking sparser than it was back in 1994.
Immersion as a Key Goal
While this is true when it comes to the key casino qualities mentioned above, there are other qualities of the online casino that can be fleshed out. One of them is immersion. For decades now, online casinos have been promising immersive experiences that match the feeling of being in a real casino. Even the casinos that have been most successful in achieving this, however, have not been able to perfectly replicate reality.
By nature, the online casino is fundamentally different from a real casino – they play on their phones, in their living rooms, or while they wait for the next bus. Immersion has been achieved, of course, but not in the same way one can be immersed in a real-life casino.
But with new tech, this might be about to change. Ever since the first Oculus VR headset was released back in 2013, people have been betting on the iGaming industry to get involved, working to elevate the immersive experience for players and put people into a traditional casino environment, without them having to even leave the house. Since the release of the Oculus Rift DK1, there have been several other models, including the Meta Quest 2, 3, the Valve Index, and most recently, the Apple Vision Pro.
Apple Vision Pro
Released in the US in February, the Apple Vision Pro is the most recent big VR headset, with the company selling around 200,000 units in the first week alone. This is a device that allows the user to experience virtual reality on a deeper level, creating simulated environments that can be explored and interacted with more smoothly than ever before.
AR capabilities also allow users to browse the web, stream videos, make FaceTime calls, and play games from their own PCs, and it comes complete with a 3D camera – letting users capture spatial photos and videos and then relive them – and visionOS – Apple’s first spatial operating system. The release has undeniably been a success, with 600 new apps built specifically for Vision Pro. But it’s got a lot of people talking about how much further the technology could go.
Apple Vision Pro for iGaming
In the iGaming landscape, a VR headset could be the answer to ultimate player immersion. It’s important to remember, for instance, that mobile devices account for nearly 85% of online casino activity. With the latest iPhone 15 coming in at a width of 71.6mm and a height of 147.6mm, players are still experiencing online casinos on a relatively small screen, making it hard to be entirely immersed in the games you’re playing – especially with everyday life going on around you.
Yes, the concept of live dealers has made games feel more natural and captivating, but again, the experience is not like-for-like. With a VR headset, players can feel like they’re in a real casino, surrounded by different table games, dealers, casino staff, and fellow players. Instead of clicking on a button, you can really interact with the casino environment, using gestures and your voice to get from A to B. Certain qualities of the Apple Vision Pro will similarly elevate the casino experience, such as:
- 8K Resolution
Because the MV-HEVC videos contain 4K views for both eyes, the Apple Vision Pro is capable of 8K, which can help casinos feel more vivid, realistic, and subsequently, more immersive.
- 180-Degree View
The Apple Vision Pro also allows for a 180-degree View, meaning the player can look around an entire casino, rather than a specific section of it.
- 3D Audio
It cannot be underestimated how important 3D audio will be for online casinos. When you’re talking about immersion, you’re talking about the full experience, including the atmosphere and the sounds that you hear.
This can only be achieved with life-like 3D audio that hits the player at all angles. Just imagine hearing the cheers from a roulette table to the right of you, while a player yells ‘Blackjack!’ to the left. It’s this kind of quality that can make or break how immersive the experience really is.
- Advanced Hand-Tracking and Eye-Tracking
As we mentioned above, even having to click a button can break you out of a realistic casino experience With the Apple Vision Pro, players can interact with the interface using both their hands and their eyes – with the eyes, specifically, acting as a mouse pointer.
- Adjustable Immersion
Another key thing about a strong immersion experience is adaptability for the user. By that we mean, that if the Apple Vision Pro really makes an impact in the iGaming space, it’s important to give players the choice about how immersed they want to be.
With a rotation crown similar to the crown of the Apple Watch, Vision Pro users can adjust the level of their immersion and tune out of a virtual setting in order to remain attentive to their real environment.
The Future for iGaming
This all sounds good, but we’re not quite there yet. As of 2024, only a select number of casinos are compatible with VR headsets, and the experience isn’t quite what we’ve talked about above. That being said, we’re talking about the potential of the Apple Vision Pro for iGaming, and that potential is very real. If technology keeps improving – and more people start buying VR headsets – then there’s every possibility more online casinos will begin optimising their content for the format, making their platforms as immersive as they are convenient.
As for when this is going to happen, it’s hard to say. Before VR headsets become more mainstream, it’s important that the price comes down and their specific purpose becomes more identifiable. Right now, VR headsets are being advertised as the ‘every device’, meaning they can elevate the experience of just about anything, from the game playing to home viewing. But because their purpose isn’t pinned down, the reason for purchase is similarly up in the air for most potential buyers, making it easier for them to bypass the hefty $3,500 price tag and carry on with what they know.
There’s a lot of work to be done before VR headsets become mainstream, but if they do, we can all expect the online casino experience to change in the future. And it’s certainly a change for the better.