If there’s one thing you can always count on in the ever-morphing world of iGaming, it’s surprises. Every year, the scene ushers in new technology, making everything easier, more convenient, and more thrilling than the year before, similar to video games.

5G has supercharged the smartphone user experience far more than its predecessor and it is still on its way to reaching many parts of the world. Meanwhile, the online gaming industry has introduced a dramatic new height in gaming technology – cloud gaming. Today we’ll be talking about what that is, how it will affect the iGaming industry, and what the consequences will be.

Cloud Gaming and Its Influence on Online Casinos

Cloud gaming is poised to totally redefine the online gaming industry, and online casinos by extension, by eliminating hardware flaws and rendering iGaming more seamless than ever. In the past, people would have to either download software onto their phones or rely on device-specific capabilities. Now, all of the processing is going to be happening on remote servers, allowing users to stream games directly to their devices like:

No longer will players be required to purchase high-RAM smartphones, computers, or gaming consoles to be able to access high-end gaming. Now, a basic smartphone, tablet, or smart TV will suffice, as long as their Internet is decent. This democratization of access will consequently extend the industry’s reach for a much broader worldwide audience to enjoy gambling.

The iGaming industry is enjoying countless other benefits as well:

  • access to better quality and greater variety of games over time;
  • more graphically advanced and feature-rich games, which were previously constrained by device performance;
  • more widespread availability of immersive, ringing slot games with spectacular visuals; live dealer games; and real-time multiplier experiences with lifelike graphics and animations;
  • the most profound effect will be on areas and regions with limited economic opportunities, such as rural areas, in particular Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where people own more modest devices. 

Benefits for Operators

Developers in turn will have the freedom to create more sophisticated gambling experiences, as the processing will be accounted for. 

Other benefits for developers and online casinos are:

  • getting to worry less about producing downloadable software and complex on-premises software;
  • scalability will go through the roof;
  • being able to expand their platforms with no problem, updating and adding in new content on the fly without having to bother users to download them;
  • users will be happier without having their gaming interrupted.

The Significance of 5G: A Huge Step for Mankind Above 4G

While 4G was a big achievement at the time in enabling mobile Internet and streaming, 5G completely curbstomps it. The differences are night and day. 

Download Speeds

One of the biggest improvements 5G brings is speed. 4G networks typically offer download speeds of around 100 Mbps. 5G by comparison averages 10 Gbps, which is around 100 times faster. This means online casino players will be able to load games instantly and stream live dealer tables in ultra-HD with no problem.

Latency Reduction

Latency is the delay between a user’s action and the system’s response. On a 4G network, it is around 30-70 milliseconds, whereas 5G will reduce it to as low as 1 millisecond. This makes all the difference for online gambling, no matter what you’re betting on. 

Bandwidth

5G also offers higher bandwidth and network efficiency. With 4G, speeds often drop in crowded areas like stadiums or urban centers. With 5G, this is no longer the case, handling a much larger number of connections per square kilometer. 

Energy Efficiency

On top of that, 5G is designed for lower power consumption. So that means players will be able to play for a lot longer before their batteries run out. Adding to this will be the fact that the phone’s processing power won’t have to be used to run the games either.

5G and Cloud-Computing

The only potential constraint that remains in disadvantaged regions is Internet availability. In 2019, 5G was developed with ultra-low latency, higher speeds, and greater network stability. However, it has not reached the entire globe. The more that this technology expands and the more people begin to buy their first smartphones, the more new gamblers there will be.

5G will usher in other Earth-shaking transformations, such as:

The Enrichment of Real-time Gaming Interactions

The delightful genre of live dealer casino games, which have experienced an explosion in popularity, will benefit immensely from the greater speed and reliability of 5G, more so than other genres like slots and roulette. There will be a lot less lagging and people will enjoy more of a smooth, high-def poker or blackjack livestream. So sitting and socializing with them will feel more natural. People will have an easier time trying to fool each other at poker.

  • Rise of virtual and augmented reality gambling: These are heavily reliant on Internet speed and one of the biggest barriers to the expansion of the VR gambling industry is the need to invest in high-end VR hardware. Instead, players will be able to step into immersive digital casino environments from any device with real-time rendering and responsive gameplay. AR overlays will also enhance the traditional gambling experience. An interactive poker table and personalized game tips can be displayed in the player’s field of view.
  • AI-based personalization: The real-time data processing that cloud gaming and 5G provide will accelerate data transmission and analytics. Consequently, online casinos will use artificial intelligence to tailor experiences according to player preferences, favorites, habits, and tendencies. This may mean game recommendations, dynamic odds adjustments, or even AI dealers capable of responding to players in real time.
  • Security and fraud detection: Casinos will benefit from the faster speeds in being able to more quickly detect suspicious behavior, fraud, and enforce responsible gambling measures more effectively. 

Available Cloud Gaming Services

Cloud gaming has already begun to transform both the iGaming and video game industries, with several platforms already competing for market share. Like in the iGaming sector, video game players no longer have to download games or have to worry about their consoles glitching. 

Services like Playtech’s Quantum Gaming, Evolution Gaming’s Live Casino, and NetEnt’s Cloud Casino Solutions offer cloud-based casino experiences making seamless gameplay a reality on a variety of devices. A big player in the sports betting industry, offering cloud-based processing as well, is UltraPlay. 

In the same vein as online casinos, it brings about real-time odds updates and smooth betting experiences guided by AI. No matter how basic the smartphone the bettor is using, the software processes just fine.

Social casinos and free-to-play gambling platforms are also helping to propel the rise of cloud technology. A couple of the biggest operators pushing it are Chumba Casino and LuckyLand Slots, where players get to enjoy casino-style games like slots and bingo straight from their cloud servers. Thus, gambling online has now become extremely available in many more ways than one.

How 5G and Cloud Gaming Will Expand the iGaming Market and Player Base

Africa is well known as a region where online casino gambling is extremely limited simply due to the extremely prevalent Internet issues. For that reason, almost virtually all the gambling done in that region is sports betting – on football in particular. Other players will be able to save money on their phones and laptops if the purpose for them buying a more powerful device would’ve been better online gaming, a common purchasing factor.