Online casinos are moving forward apace, each one bringing new, exciting features to the iGaming market. Just a few years ago, for example, live dealer games where the newest, most exciting feature for an online casino to offer. Now though, online casinos strive to outdo each other, offering an increasing selection of exciting, or quirky features to get players interested in playing at their site, over their competitors.
Often innovative, sometimes exciting, let’s take a look at some of the quirkiest features new online casinos are offering up these days.
On-site gamification
In an effort to entice, and retain players, most new online casinos are seriously upping their game when it comes to bonuses and extras on their websites. This typically involves adding loyalty programs that encourage players to stick around.
These loyalty programs work by offering a reward or point system. Players making real money bets can earn points that go toward bigger and better rewards.
The quirkiness comes in when we look at the different themes. Many casinos will have specific themes, basing their rewards around this. Often, you’ll find zombie, travel or sport-themed gamification features. This results in punny titles or game features as well as graphics to match. Quirky, but a lot of fun too.
VR games to immerse you fully
As mentioned, there are already live dealer games available to help you get that real-casino feel. But some new online casinos are going one step further. These sites now enable players to fully immerse themselves in a game via virtual reality.
Quirky, yes, but it’s definitely the way the casino world is changing. Even with live games, live chat and communities, there’s still a gap between each player and another — physical separation is still an issue.
But, with virtual reality (VR), this can change. Players can take on avatars and interact directly with other players in a virtual world. It’s possible to chat as if they were together and play as if they are right next to each other too. In all ways, bar physical touch, players are together. Here you can find a list that contains all the better new ones out there.
Using AI to check for cheating
It comes as no surprise to learn that AI is also making its way into the online casino world. However, it’s unlikely to be joining in the actual gaming side any times soon. Instead, AI is being used to check for cheaters.
It can be trained to analyse patterns in player gaming and catch those it deems to be cheating right in the act! Additionally, it can also help to predict success or failure in a game.
In other areas, AI is great in order to check and track which games players are enjoying. With AI, it’s possible to then suggest games that are similar thus improving the player’s gaming experience. In addition to this, it’s possible to send specific marketing materials to players so that players only get information about the games they actually would be interested in playing.
Paying and playing anonymously
With the rise of cryptocurrency, players are also able to play without actually linking their gaming back to themselves. Cryptocurrency deposits are anonymous, and some of the new online casinos actually cater to this. Many allow deposits in more than 10 different cryptocurrencies, assisting players with purchasing crypto and getting a wallet.
Better still, these sites offer cryptocurrency games too. This means that players will bet, and win, all in crypto with no currency conversion to a fiat currency necessary at all.
Furthermore, these new casinos also don’t always require players to provide a real name and address when signing up. In fact, it’s possible to simply play and win without ever making an account and all!
There are, of course, risks with this type of casino. Therefore, players do need to check the reliability and trustworthiness of any crypto casino they plan to join. However, there are upsides and these include the speed and cost of any crypto transactions made as well as increased security on transactions as a whole.
Are these the quirkiest features?
For now, yes they are. But, as the online casino market continues to grow, it’s likely that new features will be added. After all, these online casinos need a hook to make themselves more appealing when compared to other sites.
That being said, many of these quirky features are still in the early stages, with only a few online casinos adopting them. Keep an eye out for new changes and features though, we’re sure they’re coming very soon.