If you’re active in the online gaming scene, then you’re probably aware of the attention online casino games have been receiving. While these classics have always been pretty popular, their digital counterparts have brought new life to the gambling scene, making them a trend that most people are jumping on. There are plenty of reasons why casino games are a big hit at the moment, but one of the biggest ones is the influence traditional gaming has had on the field. So, if you’re interested in how traditional video games are influencing online casinos, here’s a brief explanation.

Creative Rewards Systems

A big reason why people love playing casino games is the rewards that can potentially come from them. Most of us are familiar with the typical way gambling can lead to monetary gain, but online casinos have switched things up by incorporating a classic video game element here and there as a nice casino reward.

As expected, this manifests in several different ways, but the most notable one comes in the form of Loyalty Programs.

Loyalty programs tend to give players special boosts the more they play. They come in many different shapes and sizes, but the ones best received by players are those laid out as games themselves. Usually, these types of reward systems include the players choosing a team, which accumulates a collective score based on how well the members of that team are doing. The rewards from these programs can vary, but the leading teams always get the best rewards out of the bunch!

Variety and Game Genres

Throughout the years, we’ve seen thousands of video games offer a unique take on different genres. With gaming becoming one of the most popular hobbies, diversity like this is crucial as it’s an excellent way to offer people with different interests something more suited to their tastes. While there are plenty of casino games out there, they’re not exactly known for offering much on the diversity front. People mainly know of classics like Poker, Blackjack, and Baccarat, all of which are variations of card games.

Luckily, casino game developers have taken note of this and introduced an incredible range of diverse games through the slot games category! Modern slots manage to combine the classic feel of old-school slot machines with various genres we see in traditional video games. From horror and fantasy to romance and adventure, themed slots today come in pretty much every category imaginable. While it’s hard to compare them to some of the traditional genre-defining games over the years, they’re top-notch options for those looking to try something different.

Tournaments and Competitions

If there’s one thing that video games excel in, it’s competition. Competitive video games are all the rage right now, and we’ve seen this need for competition translate to the online casino scene as well! Mainly, we can see casinos encourage some friendly competition through leaderboards, a video game staple that’s been around since the very beginning.

Players can see the best-ranked players at any given time, lighting a fire under their butt to try harder and take over their ranking!

The other way competitiveness is encouraged is a bit more direct. With competitive gaming and the e-sports industry growing quickly through the launch of massive tournaments, online casinos have included something very similar to their repertoire.

Whether they’re site-wide or spanning across several online casino platforms, players have a chance to participate in tournaments and competitions where the better they play particular games, the higher their chances of winning huge rewards!

The Olympic Games have always moved in line with technology. We have the likes of Hawkeye and on-the-line technology, as well as plenty more. But over the last few years there’s been serious talk about taking that technology to new levels, with the introduction of Esports to the Games.

It didn’t make the cut for Tokyo 2021 (now 2021), but in three years gaming seems all but nailed on to become an event in the Paris Games.

For many it’s a welcome addition. For many more it’s far from it. Because what comes next? Well, we have put together five more barbaric ideas for the IOC to consider given they seem open to ideas…

Bingo

Online bingo is just as popular as Esports these days with the best bingo site in the UK welcoming hundreds of thousands of customers, while millions of players enjoy it worldwide. What’s more, a giant bingo game could help fund the Olympics. It’s a win win.

Of course, there’s no skill to it, so strictly speaking it can’t be remotely described as sport. But like chess boxing, we could add something into the equation to make it a game of skill and exertion.

Speed Texting

If we’re trying to make the Games appeal to a younger audience, what about Speed Texting? Incredibly, there is, or has been competitions held for this already, with phrases like “flying thubs” thrown around to describe players.

LG has run a World Cup, while the speed texting record has previously been broken at the Cannes Lions Festival. We’re not sure how it would work. Perhaps the first to reply to a Seb Coe text wins?

Wife-Carrying

We’re always seeing power couples at the Olympics, like Jason and Laura Kenny, but how would they fancy their chances in wife-carrying? A Finnish tradition in which male competitors must carry a female teammate through an obstacle course, with the Gold medallists being the first to finish.

It’s a sport that has been running since the 1800s, while the World Championships have been in existence since the late 1990s. Competitions are now held worldwide, and we’d certainly love to see it as an addition if the Games ever went to Helsinki.

Of course, along similar lines, we’d love to see many of the sports found on Netflix’s The Champions. IOC regulated frog jumping or cheese rolling would certainly draw the crowds.

Gambling has always been a popular pastime in Ireland, from sports and horse race betting to high-stakes blackjack and games of chance such as roulette.

This trend has continued even as the market has largely transitioned online, with the leading Irish online bingo sites at betinireland.ie comprising a vast and increasingly lucrative marketplace.

Online bingo always retains a cult following, but just how popular is this vertical and why has it enjoyed such enduring love and respect on the Emerald Isle?

iGaming and Online Bingo in Ireland

Along with sports technology, we know that the gambling industry is one of the world’s fastest-growing marketplaces, with Ireland’s expansive sector also one of the best-regulated anywhere across the globe.

Ireland’s citizens wagered a cumulative amount of $9.8 billion both on and offline in 2019, for example, despite boasting a relatively small population of five million.

This equates to an average bankroll of $379.52 per head, which is amongst the highest per capita gambling spends in the world. To provide some context, the average Brit wagers just £133 annually ($181.69) or a relatively paltry £2.57 per week, highlighting a difference that’s as stark as it is outstanding.

Furthermore, the overall gambling industry on the continent is worth an estimated $24.7 billion, with Ireland accounting for a staggering 40% of this total GGY.

This is despite the Emerald Isle being one of Europe’s smaller countries, with a population much smaller than that of Spain, Germany, Italy and the UK.

But how much is wagered online in Europe? Overall, it’s estimated that $4.7 billion of the total $9.8 billion spent in Ireland is wagered online, including live casino games and virtual bingo verticals.

This equates to a market share just shy of 50%, which highlights the growing popularity of online verticals and the increased dominance of virtual gameplay in the digital age.

Of course, online bingo represents a relatively small piece of this pie, but it remains incredibly popular in Ireland and (like other iGaming verticals) continues to grow incrementally year-on-year.

The History of Bingo in Ireland

While the game of bingo can be traced back hundreds of years, it didn’t arrive on the shores of Ireland until the 1960s.

However, once it did arrive it was quickly embraced by gambling-friendly locals, with a host of local bingo halls springing up in Ireland just as they had previously in England, Scotland and Wales.

During this time, Saturday night became bingo night in Ireland, creating a thrilling combination of gambling, drinking and socialising for young and older adults alike.

Interestingly, Irish bingo was originally championed by the Catholic Church, who were keen to market it as a fun way to raise funds from local communities and provide a fun source of entertainment for residents.

By the late 70s, however, its reputation and popularity had spread so much that bingo was able to detach itself from the church and become a mainstream form of entertainment in its own right.

The majority of bingo halls were located in Dublin, catering to both locals and visitors alike over time. However, Irish hubs were never heavily reliant on tourists (unlike operators in the UK), as locals who loved the game played all-year-round and created a consistent source of revenue for brands.

This trend has continued to this day, while it shows no sign of abating having largely transitioned online.

The Last Word – Online Bingo Now

It’s now a little over 60 years since bingo was first introduced as an offline entity in Ireland, with the evolved online vertical having grown into a popular and much-loved marketplace.

It’s also a vertical that contributes the largest amount to the online GGY in Ireland, with its contribution increasing incrementally over the last couple of years or so.

Ultimately, today’s online bingo platforms do much to replicate the immersive sights and sounds of a bricks-and-mortar experience, while the sheer range and diversity of game iterations offers huge value to casual and serious players alike.

So, although online bingo in Ireland will never be as generative as virtual slots or table games, the vertical retains a niche following that tends to wager frequently and in deceptively large amounts.