There’s much more to games of chance than just spinning the reel or waiting for the next card to be dealt. That’s especially the case when playing with someone else. Whether it’s a friend or another player you’ve met online, these experiences often become less about the outcome and more about the fun you have while playing.
This social side of online casino games is growing, and it’s slowly starting to mirror communities we have in the RPG world. With that said, let’s look at how casino-style games are building shared experience, creating connections, and building new spaces for player interaction.
The Social Side of Gaming
One of the best things about gaming is that it brings people together. Online multiplayer sessions have become a common space where players connect and compete together. Sometimes, a team is made up of IRL friends, and other times, it’s a group of people that have never met before.
From League of Legends teams of five to Final Fantasy XIV raid parties, gaming has created entirely new ways for people to bond. Together, they create strategies, analyze previous games, and celebrate victories. Quite often, playing in teams leads to real-life friendships being formed and sustained beyond the game.
The same spirit of connection has always existed in traditional board and tabletop RPG games. Working together with other players in Dungeons & Dragons is equally important as getting high rolls, and Catan is all about trading your resources and negotiating with your friends.
Social gaming has now arrived at games of chance, too. Long gone are the days when spinning slots meant you had to sit in silence and just press buttons. Now, you can chat or talk with other people as you play. These conversations often start as sharing tips or strategies, but end up evolving into jokes, stories, or friendships.
This is especially the case with games that have entered the world of online casinos relatively recently. Crash games such as Aviator involve decision-making, and players enjoy having someone to share that tension with. The game is becoming increasingly popular in online casino circles, and you can find sites that have it on their roster by reading a trusted Aviator game guide online.
Even More Opportunity for Connection
Both traditional and online casino games offer even more opportunities to connect with others than just through gameplay. Every big title out there has its own community with active members who share strategies, exchange stories, and offer support to new players.
There’s no need to talk about how big World of Warcraft and Guild Wars 2 have become as global hubs for players. Initially, these communities started appearing on forums, but now are more commonly found on Discord servers and Reddit threads.
Streaming platforms like Twitch and Kick now also play a huge role in shaping modern gaming communities. While this applies to all games, it’s particularly common in online casino circles, as popular content creators like xQc and Adin Ross livestream their slot or crash game gameplay with their audiences. Viewers talk about the game between themselves in the chat, and often, those conversations continue on social media platforms. Also, regular viewers recognize each other and often consider themselves friends, even though they’ve never met in real life.
From there, viewers who’ve met each other on a stream often go on to play casino games together and keep their discussions alive long after their session ends. What begins with shared interest in gameplay often evolves into friendships or rivalries.
What’s Next For Online Casino Communities?
When online multiplayer games first emerged, players were thrilled just about the fact that they could play together without physically being in the same space. Over time, game developers came up with new ways to integrate social features in their products.
Initially, players used chat platforms to stay connected while playing together. Today, in-game voice chats are pretty much the standard for any game that takes place online.
The gambling industry is a few steps behind in this, simply because the nature of slots, poker, and other casino-style games doesn’t require the same kind of communication that RPGs and other genres do. However, with more and more people playing online, web-based casinos naturally started exploring the idea of creating more opportunities for them to connect.
As these elements of online casinos continue to evolve, it may not be too long before VR casinos become a regular thing and people start playing together in full-scale digital casinos. Instead of just staring at the screen, players could walk through a virtual lobby, join other players at a poker table or a row of slot machines, and start playing. Although VR casinos already exist, the technology for them is still developing, and we’re yet to see it reach levels that would make them mainstream.
Ultimately, the future of online casino communities points toward deeper social integration. Whether it’s advanced chat features, interactive streaming, or full-scale VR casinos, we’re undoubtedly going to see much more arrive in the coming years.