Players who enjoy playing casino games or slot machines, but dont want to fall prey to the pitfalls of a possible gambling addiction didnt have too many options to play in real casinos until recently.
Sure, there was the occasional offering of free spins no deposit needed, but those offers are few and far between. And players can obviously always play the games for free without logging in, but that is just a demo version and thus much less satisfying than the real thing.
This gap between players desires and the things that regular online casinos offer has lately been filled more and more by so-called Social Casinos. And were wondering if this new fad can gain even more traction in the upcoming year(s).
What is a Social Casino?
This new type of casino took a leaf out of the popular apps provided in Play Stores, App Stores and on social media around the world. Think Farmville, Mafia Wars and even Candy Crush. The access is simple and most importantly free.
To play in a Social Casino and enjoy all the games, such as roulette, blackjack and slot machines, all you need is a working internet connection and a computer or a smart mobile device, such as your smartphone or tablet.
The biggest difference between a Social Casino and a regular online casino is that youll never play for real money and consequently, you cannot earn real money either. That might sound just like playing the demo version without logging in or registering at an online casino, but theres another layer to it.
What makes Social Casinos so popular?
The social component is achieved by having the players band together to keep playing. In a Social Casino you play with virtual coins. You start out with an amount of coins and this amount replenishes over time.
If you run out of coins, you have three options: you can wait until your coins replenish automatically, you can buy new coins with real money via in-app purchases or you can ask your fellow casino players to help you out.
Just like in Farmville when youre sending out crops in exchange for a cow, you can send a fellow player a predetermined amount of coins per day in the hopes that he or she might return the favour.
This social component of playing draws more and more players in and friends might soon ask other friends to come and play as well. After all, if they want to, they can get the full casino experience without ever paying a dime.
Will Social Casinos replace online casinos?
Highly unlikely! After all, at the end of the day you cant really win money in a Social Casino. The thrill might be better than playing by yourself in demo versions of slots and the social aspect makes for a nice community feeling. But players that really want to win big, will still have to make their way to a more traditional online casino.
In the end, we predict that Social Casinos and online casinos will peacefully coexist, each catering to an entirely different type of casino player. This fact wont impede Social Casinos from gaining more traction in the years to come, but online casinos have no reason to shake in their boots either.