Online Gambling In A Virtual World?

Online Gambling In A Virtual World? ( Click to Enlarge )

There is no doubt, online casinos have made casino games more accessible. Where once you had to go to a physical location – a brick and mortar building – you can now enjoy casino games from the comfort of your bed or sofa. Simply load up a site, deposit your money and join in 24/7.

But what if virtual reality mixed with online casino gaming? With an increasing number of people using a VR headset for their entertainment, it’s technically possible to walk into an almost-real casino building without even leaving your home.

Though virtual reality casinos aren’t yet big business, could Rockstar Games be taking the online casino experience to the next level through GTA Online?

The GTA Online casino

Ever since it launched, the online version of Grand Theft Auto, which takes place in the GTA 5 world, has featured a closed-off casino building. A sign pinned to the building promised that it was “Coming Soon!”, yet nothing ever happened.

Many of the game’s 34 million players have checked on this building regularly, waiting for something to happen.

Now, more than five years after the launch of the game, construction tools have appeared outside the casino doors and it looks like changes are happening. Rumour has it that the exterior view of the casino will alter at regular intervals to show construction developments, before the launch of the GTA Online Casino later in 2019.

Real World Transactions?

At the moment, it’s not clear how Rockstar Games will choose to manage its online casino. However, mixing a fun online RPG with real-world gambling can be risky business for a game developer, with a lot of red tape to work through.

Rockstar tested the waters by bringing online poker to its Red Dead Online game, though this used in-game currency that could not be purchased with real-world cash. Could GTA Online bridge the game between the real world and the game world, by allowing users to purchase GTA currency using money from their own bank accounts?

Online VR Gambling Developments: The Future?

There is a huge appetite for online gambling that takes place away from the web browser, in a virtual world or using a VR headset. Almost certainly, the next few years will see online casino gaming literally leaping off the screen.

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