Casino games became virtualized in the 1990s to make gambling more convenient from the comfort of a bettor’s home. However, video games have been long around before casino games. Hence, casino ones may have drawn inspiration from video game elements to make it more interesting for bettors to play. Let’s highlight the similarities and differences of video games and casino games and analyze their historical elements and overall features.
What Are Casino Games?
Playing on an online casino involves wagering real money on different betting games to possibly earn you a reward if the bet goes in your favor. Of course, not every bet is guaranteed as a win, but the more you wager on your favorite casino game by analyzing different trends in the game, the higher possibility you could win.
There’s also the consideration that many of the casino games available such as poker, slots, and others are games of pure chance. Even with strategizing like you are playing a video game, it’s still difficult to win because of the random chance aspect.
When you log on to play a casino game, you already know what you are getting into with games like slots, craps, poker, Black Jack, roulette, and others. The games on the casino platform may have different themes to make your game play more interesting. For example, you may have a Mesopotamian-themed slots game while another is a Texas Rodeo theme.
What Are Video Games?
Video games can take on any storyline, setting, play style, and milestones that can be hit throughout the game. Duke Nukem debuted as a video game for IBM PC in 1991 that follows the aforementioned named character that the CIA hired to save the world from the main antagonist, Dr. Proton. This is more of an example of an action/adventure type game.
Fast forward to the 21st century where video games take on multiple themes and can be played on a smartphone, tablet, or different types of gaming consoles depending on availability. From strategy traditional tabletop card games that have digitized versions like Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links and Magic: the Gathering Arena, to the many puzzle strategy games like Candy Crush Saga, app gaming has become a popular format for gaming on-the-go.
Steam revolutionized the PC gaming industry when it debuted in 2003. The platform now has more than 50,000 games available for free or for purchase to download and 120 million active users utilize Steam for their gaming leisure every month.
Gaming systems have evolved over the years from Atari in the 1980s to Sega Genesis in the 1990s. PlayStation has five models that were manufactured from 1995 to 2020. Xbox has 360, Series S, and Series X. Nintendo has a range of old consoles like Nintendo 64 and Nintendo Gamecube with the most modern system being the Nintendo Switch.
The History of Video Games and Casino Games
William Higinbotham, a physicist prominent in 1958, was the creator of what historians believed to be the first video game, which was a tennis game with simple graphics. More than likely, the 1970 hit video game, Pong, could have been drawn from the inspiration of this first video game debut that occurred 12 years earlier.
“The Gaming Club” debuted back in 1994, which was the rise of the first online casino games that we know today. There were about 225 casinos in the United States back in 2000 and now there are a little over 2,000 of them in the country 24 years later.
Comparing and Contrasting Video Games and Casino Games
A casino game can be considered a video game because of the electronic graphics involved in its development. However, a video game is usually not a casino game because many of them do not involve gambling fiat currency in the return for a possible payout.
Some RPG games now include casino games as a real-life element. For example Grand Theft Auto V lets you go to available casinos and wager on games with your in-game cash. Of course, you can purchase in-game cash with fiat currency, so you can almost say you are wagering real money in a video game if you go this route!