What Are Skill-Based Casino Games?
Due to the rapid growth of online gaming technology and accessibility to faster and more reliable internet, there has been a rapid rise of internet gaming over the past decade. Thanks to 7 reels, gambling as we knew it has completely changed, especially since there’s much more convenience from playing at home and on the go. Unlike traditional mechanical slots and casino games like poker, skill-based games appeal to younger generations, often referred to as Millennials. Today, we take a closer look at what these games are about.
Skill-based Casinos Games
In their most basic sense, skill-based games are types of games where players with more experience in playing often have an advantage. If you play skill-based games, you can use proven strategies and techniques to win, without the fear of getting banned from the gaming platform. Furthermore, there’s also a chance that some playing styles could be more successful over and over again.
Poker is the most popular kind of skill-based casino game, where players get to compete against each other rather than the house dealer. Games like blackjack and baccarat are often thought to be about the skill to some extent, but they are more about chance mainly because you’re playing against the dealer.
Other than poker, fantasy sports and eSports are the other most popular skill games, and amongst millennials, they are even more popular than poker. Fantasy sports are typically pegged on a player’s ability to assemble a virtual team from real-world professional sports players that’s better than their opponents to get an edge. eSports, on the other hand, is a video gaming competition based on organized multiplayer tournaments where professional players often play against each other.
While games like poker have always been in casino platforms, Fantasy sports and eSports have just been recently recognized and are now catching up quite fast.
How Online Skill-Based Casino Games Work
As mentioned earlier, players in skill-based gambling use their knowledge about online casino games. However, the results will now be based on chance once you place your wager. In poker, for instance, the techniques and strategies may be based on a player's behaviour and decisions when playing.
Unlike games of pure chance, techniques and strategies used in skill-based casinos allow players more control, but the outcome of the wagers still remains uncertain. Similarly, while these techniques and strategies can help, no system can be used to eliminate house advantage or win every single hand. But then, while you can’t control the outcome altogether, if you get better at playing the game, you could grab millions of dollars in rewards.
Playing Skill-Based Casino Games
It is easy for online skill-based gamers to get ahead of themselves. They mostly do it by either underestimating the skill level of their opponents and overestimating their skill level or overestimating the degree of control they have over the outcome of the game. For instance, online poker players don’t have control over what cards they receive from the dealer as well as the cards that their challengers will receive from the dealer.
Since the outcome in all types of betting, which also includes the skill-based type, is not certain, players must stay calm and patient. This is to make sure that gaming and gambling remains a fun and safe activity. However confident you are with your skills, sometimes a loss is part of the game, and you should know when to quit. On the same note, even if you are on a winning streak, you should play responsibly because the next minute, tables could turn!
Is Skill-based Gaming Taking Over?
For many years, the result of play on electronic gaming machines such as video poker and slots were a hundred percent random. This means that absolutely nothing influenced the outcome, whether you have skills or not. It was just pure, cold, hard randomness. However, this changed in 2016 when a Nevada law allowed machines with an element of skill. By 2017, such machines started to flock into the casinos slowly.
Now, other than games like poker, slot machines and video poker developers are rolling out versions that favour an element of skill as well. Skill-based casinos have flourished across the globe, driven by the following gaming companies:
Gamblit Gaming
GameCo
Scientific Games
Konami
The motive for this change is that casino operators are hopeful of making their services more appealing to Millennials or younger players using video game styled machines. This is because the majority of young players have shown little to no interest in traditional slots.
As the number of old generation players continues to decrease, traditional slots are not being replaced by many younger players. As a result, trends in the casino gambling market show that their revenues are plummeting.
Therefore, the big question is “are skill-based casino games working”? As we speak, there have been mixed reports on this, and it is still early to tell what the long-term result of skill-based casino gaming will be like.
What the Future Holds for Skill-Based Casino Games
While skill-based casinos are still in their infancy, it is safe to say that they are going to continue making good headway in the future. By increasing user experience and educating players with skill-based types of gambling machines, things are surely going to change for the better.
Moreover, with significant events like eSports World Cup Tournaments, the industry is getting more attractive for the younger generation. We can’t wait to see how much more popular skill-based gaming will get in the next decade!
