2020-08-13
When mobile casino gaming was first announced in the late 2000s, some serious questions were asked. Would mobile casinos ever go on to topple online casinos or land-based casinos? Moreover, could they ever truly replace the action you can have at a typical online casino? The experts were adamant that mobile casino gaming was the future. How have things panned out almost fifteen years after the first mobile betting site went live? Were the experts right? It is time to find out.

The Current State of Affairs


With hindsight, it is quite clear to see that mobile casino action has overtaken online casino gaming in many areas. However, to say that the experts were right would be disingenuous. For a start, the mobile casinos the expert talked of back in the day were app-based. Games were downloaded separately, and the mobile casino gaming experience was quite different from online casino action.

Mobile apps did not take off. Sure, they are still around, and most of the big sites carry them. However, for the most part, mobile casino gaming has transformed into standard online casino gaming. Instead of real casinos falling by the wayside, they have simply been redesigned using HTML5, allowing mobile users to play with nothing more than their web browser and a decent Wi-Fi connection. In a sense, they are often now the same.

The Real Mobile Casino Experience


In reality, there is virtually no difference between mobile casinos and online casinos, when they both use instant play software. If you play via an app, you are often treated to a more minimalistic (if dedicated) experience, with fewer games. However, these casinos tend to feature mobile payment methods (such as Pay by Phone) and specialised mobile bonuses.

By contrast, though, playing at a real casino via your mobile phone or tablet's web browser often delivers the same experience as playing via a computer. You get the same games, same promotions, payment methods and support options. Considering this, it is hard to say that mobile casinos have "replaced" online casinos. It is far more accurate to say that real casinos have adapted themselves to support mobile gaming.

What About Brick and Mortar Casinos?


Can mobile casinos replace brick-and-mortar casinos, though? As we have seen with COVID-19, there is an appetite to gamble, even when land-based casinos are out of commission. Any notion about land-based venues being more attractive because of their other services (such as hotels, food and drink) seems to fall away when we consider that many people are still gambling with those casinos shut.

One only has to look at how these brick-and-mortar casinos are now offering online and mobile casino gaming to their users to see that there could be a case for mobile domains overtaking their land-based counterparts. A quick read of any casino review, like a Virgin Casino NJ review, would also reveal that mobile sites such as these have a lot more to offer than conventional casinos. While online casinos are not in any immediate danger from mobile casinos, the same cannot be said of traditional resort-based casinos sites.