VR in casinos: where it stands today, not what is promised
Published on · Tobias Hoffmann · 6 min read
Most writing about VR in casinos is in the future tense. What exists today is more interesting, along with what follows from it for cost.
What exists today
- Live studios with several camera angles. Widespread and mature — that is video, not VR.
- 3D lobbies in the browser. They exist, usually as a surface over the same games.
- Individual VR titles for headsets. Present, but niche: few games, few operators.
- Full VR casinos. Announced ever since headsets existed. None of it is standard today.
What changes in the mathematics: nothing
A game in a 3D environment uses the same random number generator and the same payout rate as the same game in a browser. The presentation is a surface; the rate sits, as always, in the game's info panel.
What does change: duration
| Aspect | Changes with VR |
|---|---|
| Payout rate | No |
| House edge | No |
| Length of the session | Yes |
| Data use | Yes, considerably |
| Interruptions from outside | Yes, fewer |
Immersion is the purpose of the technology — and it acts on exactly the quantity that sets the cost. Someone wearing a headset is interrupted by their surroundings less often; turnover is stake times number of rounds. Why this works so well psychologically is in the article on psychology.
Practical consequence
If an environment is built so that you forget the time, the time cue has to come from outside: an alarm outside the headset and a limit in the account, set before putting it on. What that looks like is in the article on mindful play.
Whether an operator is subject to German protection rules at all can be checked in a minute — see the article on the GGL. What already differs at a live table is shown in the article on live tables.
