Casino gambling companies ensure they cover all the bases when they come up with fresh ideas that could make their mark on the broader industry. Not all their ideas are guaranteed to be successful, especially in the modern age, when so many companies vie for smaller slices of the market.
There have been various attempts to capture a niche within this vast, multibillion-dollar industry. Social casinos are a good example, but other concepts have established themselves as niches that could gain traction.
Blockchain and cryptocurrency casinos are among the most prominent current examples. Still, there are slot gaming ideas that adapt the initial design to attract a larger audience by promising significant jackpots.
Defining social casino games
So, what are social casino games? They’re a simple concept, really. They operate similarly to a conventional casino; you can often find slots, tables and virtual games, with the difference being that you cannot use real money on the site.
Instead, operators will opt for a combination of on-site tokens, currencies usable only on their site, or paying out prizes and vouchers rather than actual currencies.
This may seem like a pointless endeavour at first glance, but such platforms achieve many aims. Firstly, they offer a route for casino gamers who may live in a jurisdiction, state, province or country where gambling is heavily regulated. Social casinos do not fall within the remit of conventional brands, as they do not accept real-money payments or wagers on their sites.
In countries such as New Zealand, where there is a healthy gambling market, there is also a market in which social casinos are flourishing. Here, they have the best of both worlds, which is why a New Zealand casino bonus often covers social casinos and conventional providers.
Blurring the lines
If you are navigating a social casino site, it’s easy to fall into the trap that it is a standard, conventional casino. A lot of the casino games are similar; they use the same gaming technology we are familiar with on conventional sites, and some even offer redeemable tokens that can be swapped for real cash that can be withdrawn. Some of these sites are flying close to the sun when it comes to their regulatory responsibilities.
Now, just because a social casino site uses a range of on-site currencies and payment options, this doesn’t mean they can overlook or negate their responsibility when it comes to responsible gambling.
Ensuring that those who are at risk of problem gambling can shield themselves from the worst of gambling addiction is still important. While the risks are lower with social casinos, they can serve as a gateway for those who struggle with managing their time or budget effectively.
Viability of international casino gaming
Before the widespread availability of the internet, there was a clear set of rules for how land-based casinos could operate. If a country had strict regulations, most casino companies would not view establishing a venue there as a profitable business venture; they would face major overheads, rent and other costs associated with regulatory and licensure requirements.
However, the emergence of online casinos meant that international companies could now operate across a range of countries, without having to concern themselves with many of these issues and costs.
It also meant the range of available games grew significantly. Instead of local competition, brands were now facing off against international competition online. Those that could partner with marketing companies and social media influencers were soon positioning themselves as the new springboard for global marketing success, and this niche is continuing to gather momentum across the online marketplace.
At that stage, conventional social casinos were not something that many casino companies explored. However, in the world of online casino gaming, where overheads were lower and they could tap into a global niche rather than a domestic one, it suddenly made sense.
As long as international brands could find jurisdictions that would grant them the appropriate license, they could operate in a much larger market, often without the same regulatory headaches that conventional casinos have faced for over a century.
Drawing a line in the sand
In what is quite a blow to the social casino sector, one of the biggest markets in the world, California, has recently brought in legislation that will see them outlawed from the beginning of next year.
This is a dilemma for the sector, as they rely heavily on major economies with stringent laws against conventional gambling, and use social casinos to market to millions of people in the middle ground.
However, as we have already mentioned, some social casinos can push the limits somewhat – especially those that do not have the same type of presence in the market as the more globally known social casinos.
Across the US, other states are taking a more hardline approach to social casinos because of their similarities with conventional sites. New Jersey has already outlawed them, and talks of Nevada and New York making similar moves are underway, but nothing has been legislated yet.
None of this helps the social casino industry. It’s increasingly finding itself shoved into the spotlight and compared to conventional brands, and while there might be some element of lobbying from globally renowned conventional casinos looking to suppress any form or semblance of competition, the fact that social casinos often allow the means to convert on-site tokens into real money is where the lines are becoming blurred – and regulators are pushing back.
Final thoughts
So, what does the future hold for social casinos? Until there’s a broad, international set of regulations for them to operate within, then it’s likely they’ll face the same regulatory scrutiny and grey areas that we have seen in the crypto casino gaming industry, too.
There will always be a market for them, but if major economies like California continue to take aggressive steps to outlaw social casinos, they will run out of areas to expand into.
As long as they can market themselves as a genuine alternative, where people can use on-site tokens and not have to worry about losing their cash in real-money bets, then there will always be a market, but how large it can grow is the real question, and it’s one that industry bosses are desperately trying to navigate.
