Future trends in gambling technology

Few industries in recent years have revolutionised their image as much as the gambling sector. The secretive world of the High Street betting shop – smoky dens with plastic pens, betting slips, arcane odds and racing dogs on banks of TV screens – has given way to a new world where gambling is fun, intuitive and ubiquitous.

Technology has been at the forefront of this transformation, mobile most prominently, but the industry is not one to rest on its laurels. The new challenge for gambling and gaming firms is to provide punters with an even more immersive, enjoyable experience, and to protect them from issues around fraud and problem gambling. Once again, tech will be at the heart of these solutions.

The ease and anonymity of gambling today, where it has become simpler than ever to pick up a device and place a bet, has made identity one of the most pressing issues facing the industry. This is given additional urgency by updates to European regulations such as the Anti-Money Laundering and Payment Services Directives.

The answer lies within the devices themselves. New security measures embedded within modern smartphones and tablets provide a solution to the problems of fraudulent or under-age use, not least biometric authentication. We’ve already begun to see major gambling apps incorporating fingerprint ID to ensure that only authorised people can make bets.

These range from other forms of biometric ID such as facial recognition, to establish identity and prevent fraud and money laundering. To be successful, however, these identification methods need to be highly reliable, fast, and fool-proof – with developments such as in-play betting, punters will become increasingly annoyed if they miss out on a successful bet because of an authentication failure.

Be a part of the action

With the authentication problem solved, the next challenge for gambling firms is to provide an even richer, more distinctive and immersive gaming experience on mobile devices. Punters have come to expect high-quality graphics and seamless multi-player gameplay that enable them to simulate a poker table on their device; the next development will be to put players into the very heart of the action with virtual reality (VR).

The market for VR headsets has grown enormously in the last few months, with hardware firms from HTC to Google to Samsung bringing out their own competing devices to rival Oculus Rift. These headsets will change the way we use our phones and tablets, and for punters they promise to revolutionise the gaming experience. Instead of just watching a Bond movie on a train, VR will let people be James Bond, going into a virtual casino and sitting down with players – although the virtual martini is still sadly a few years away. Despite the undoubted progress in this area, merchants will still need to ensure that any move towards VR provides a fast and frictionless gaming experience; a slow and clunky interface will be bad news for punters and merchants alike.

Two other technologies that are revolutionising almost every industry are AI and bots. These offer significant opportunities for the gaming sector, from both an experiential and a safety perspective. For example, bots and AI can identify patterns of problem gambling, and send punters messages and links to resources that provide help and support.

But the same technology can also enrichen the gaming experience – for example, with in-game betting they can add a layer of detail to help gamblers make better decisions. A bot could send messages providing stats on players’, teams’ or horses’ recent form, providing additional insight– and perhaps improve their chances of winning.

Taken together, these technologies promise a safer, more enjoyable and more responsible future for gambling.