The next generation consoles, Xbox One and PS4, have revolutionised the world of consoles. No longer are they just an outlet to game. Rather, they are practically high spec PC’s crossed with satellite television boxes, with the gaming experience thrown into boot. However, both consoles do have a glaring omission, online gambling.
In the past PlayStation have tried their hand with casino based games but none have managed to attract much of a following. The reason being, all of the games released on disk are centred around fake money. People gamble for the thrill and the potential financial rewards, therefore the gambling games we have had in the past have failed to saturate our thrill-seeking urges. Nobody gets a rush from winning, or losing, pretend money.
Of course there are reasons to why online gambling and casinos haven’t been integrated into game consoles, namely due to the differing gambling laws in various countries. They say various countries but in truth it is to do with America, which is a confusing minefield when it comes to online gambling. Federalism is great for so many things but when it comes to legislating the internet it is useless.
From all accounts, America seems to be the main stumbling block, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Surely your Xbox or PS4 could tell by your IP address where you live and whether it is legal to gamble online? Take Netflix on your console, it is tailored to your country; British Netflix has a significant proportion of British television while the US is obviously more America heavy. So there is something in place for differentiating between locations as Netflix manages to do it. So why could there not be a similar kind of stop-catch on online gambling? Those who are permitted can and those who can’t will never know otherwise. Another example would be the Sky Go app on the Xbox, you can get in England but you can’t get it in America.
In 2011, the UK online gambling industry was worth £1.92billion, so it seems all the more strange that Xbox and PlayStation do not accommodate for it. One in four people in Britain gamble online each year, and loosely speaking this ratio wouldn’t be much different in other countries. Using the aforementioned stop-catch to limit users to legal countries, Xbox and PlayStation can provide a platform for online gambling and as a result get a slice of this lucrative pie. From a business perspective, their lack of online gambling borders on the nonsensical.
What’s more, if they incorporated gambling into their games they would increase the enjoyment tenfold. Take the hugely successful FIFA franchise for example. This is a game that sells around 14.5million copies yearly; it is also a game where people would like a gambling element to. At the minute, current players gamble in the form of Pink Slips, you play a game of FIFA and if you lose you have to give away your best player, so there is a rather obvious demand for a gambling function. You could cap matches at $5, meaning that there is an element of risk but not one that would hurt too much – this would go down a storm with FIFA players.
People may think there are more than enough forms of gambling on your web browser, which to a certain degree is true. But then again, look at how Smartphone gaming has revolutionised the industry, offering the client something completely different from the normative online gambling experience. The next generation consoles can do the same and some.
Let’s take online poker as an example. With Xbox coming with Kinnect and the PlayStation Camera selling well, next generation consoles could take online poker to the next level, and make it feel as if you’re actually playing in a casino. You will be able to have direct communication with one another via the microphone, while you will also be able to study your opponent and try and work out their tells. It would add a layer of realism that current online casinos are lacking.
It is clear that there is a demand for console casinos and if there was a way to intertwine gaming and gambling, the experience would be a lot more enjoyable. It’s not as if the technology isn’t there, even PS3’s and Xbox 360’s could differentiate between countries, meaning they cannot play the America card, while they will be able to tell if someone is old enough to play via their card details.
Gambling on consoles would prove to be very popular and it is arguably the next logical step for both online casinos and console manufacturers to take. There is a need and a desire to gamble on our consoles and hopefully, in the next 24 months, we will be able to gamble via our next-gen consoles.
