Virtual reality is becoming hugely popular in the video game market, but the casino world continues to be slow on the uptake of this trend. A new report from Slots Million reveals that there is plenty of potential for online casinos to attract millennial players by offering up virtual reality experiences.
2000 people took part in the survey which was conducted by Opinium, a strategic insight agency. The report found that 92% of people are aware of Virtual Reality while 25% have tried it. 15% have tried VR once or twice with 8% having played virtual reality games for less than 25 hours.
When it comes to demographics, it is most popular among 18- to 34-year-olds with 40% having tried the technology and 80% being “interested” in it. This is also the same demographic that is the most likely to spend money on VR technology, willing to spend £134 to experience virtual reality; however most headsets are double the price.
Online casino operators are eager to target Millennials, who fall right into this demographic. While new and innovative casino game features have attracted more young players to online gambling sites, virtual reality has the potential to really solidify digital casinos as a viable entertainment options among 18- to 34-year-olds.
Slots Million has identified that the main reason virtual reality has not yet caught on at online casinos is due to price of headsets. An HTC Vive costs $899 while an Oculus Rift $600. Since the price of headsets is so high, players are still quite reluctant to shell out that kind of cash which has led casino operators to be dubious about adopting the technology.
"Once headsets and the related technology becomes more affordable, I fully expect the interest and experience levels to continue to rise sharply,” says Alexandre Tomic, CEO of Slots Millions. "We can use VR to create beautiful, vivid encounters that are more colorful and lifelike than real life. It has the power to transport us to another world and, as we are demonstrating with our VR casino SlotsMillion, be in two places at once."
We can’t wait to see how online casinos experiment with virtual technology. As more and more players and operators continue to adapt to VR, we can expect to see some great things in the online gambling world.
