The enshitification of online gambling

[Questat]

The only innovation they make is to make them more money.

Isn’t that how the business should think?

They want us to believe that gambling is just for fun, so we stop looking at the real chances and just hope that maybe we will win if we get lucky. But the house edge is always there, and in some games it can be really huge.

Take slots for example. We know the house edge is usually higher compared to dice, but why is it still very popular now? Because they convinced people to play it, and in actual experience, it is really entertaining. The UI, sounds, bonuses, and everything around it makes people stay longer without thinking too much about the odds. So in my case, I would just choose the game depending on what I want. If I only want to have fun, dice is easier and simple. But if I want something a bit more serious while still having fun, I would go for sports betting.

[Agbe]

The only innovation they make is to make them more money.

Yet gamblers tripping in and that has made the industry owners to believe that all is well since the gamblers are not complaining but enjoying the games and losing at all time. There is no probably fair casinos in anywhere in the internet all are rigid. and full with house edge. If I wish the owners and the main representatives of casinos are seeing this thread. This discussion is good for them to reshape their services.

[Davidvictorson]

For some reason, after 2020, the crowd stopped demanding fairness and verifiability, and for the most part, they began to prefer lighter images and sounds, and this despite the fact that, as you correctly noted, this type of gambling has a low percentage of player winnings.
This is probably all due to the fact that the casino's business model has changed from the goal of attracting as many techies as possible and showing them that the casino is fair and fun to the goal of attracting the masses and squeezing everything out of them.

I noted too that compared to the earlier years, while the technology improved, the incentives that attracted players were modified. One would observe how the new casinos are doing everything they can keep the players engaged for long on their platforms through several means while they spend more money trying to get more fun out of their gambling which wasn’t the case before.

[Agbamoni]

I dont believe in the "Provably fairness". It's a phrase used to deceive people. I think people want something to hold on to when gambling, something that gives them hope of winning the house.

Provably fair creates the impression that the house can be beaten. That idea alone gives the players a sense of reassurance. Well, the reality is that the house will always have an edge. No technical term will change that fact.

[r_victory]

In a market like the betting industry, it's difficult to stand out; it's not a market that allows for much innovation, the providers used are practically the same, the promotions are similar, so, in my opinion, a casino can only survive through its credibility, excellent customer service, efficient support, or by inventing something new, that "wow" factor.

[Slow death]

Casinos have become more focused on pleasing customers so that the competition doesn't steal all their clients. Therefore, casinos avoid making major changes, they won't invest time and money in innovations when they already have loyal customers and realize that other casinos offering the same things have many clients. So they quickly conclude that people like things as they are, and when something pleases many people and works, the best thing to do is not change anything. In the end, a standard has been created in this online casino market.

[TopT3ns]

Casinos have become more focused on pleasing customers so that the competition doesn't steal all their clients. Therefore, casinos avoid making major changes, they won't invest time and money in innovations when they already have loyal customers and realize that other casinos offering the same things have many clients. So they quickly conclude that people like things as they are, and when something pleases many people and works, the best thing to do is not change anything. In the end, a standard has been created in this online casino market.

The emphasis on customers satisfaction among most casinos is what makes most of them remain stuck with old systems to ensure that its clients remain loyal. This cynicism to undertake major innovations can be explained by the fact that the current standards of the market are seen to be meeting reasonably well the needs of the majority of users. Admittedly, it is much safer to take a consistent course of service than to run a risk of changes which might not be well-accepted by the market.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

There's very little innovation nowdays. Interesting how crypto casinos have come to function without competition in terms of innovation even though they're holding competing products, supposedly.

The only innovation they make is to make them more money.
The other day I was looking at live dealer baccarat, a very traditionally low risk casino game, and the dealer was forced to promote side bets every 2 rounds. Kinda makes sense because the house edge of baccarat is around 1.24% whereas side bets have a whooping 10% house edge which is so crazy to consider.

Well, I am basically not surprised because I've always believed and I've always been vocal about how casinos are simply a business built or setup to make money for their owners and nothing more, yeah, they provide entertainment which unfortunately, the users or most users of this casinos don't see or treat as entertainment but rather a means through which they too can make money and this is basically why this casinos keep making more and more money on daily basis.

A gambler who treats and entertainment service as a way to make money will not play by the rules, they will not adhere to responsible gambling protocols but rather will want to do something they believe will increase their chances of hitting it big from the game they play but unfortunately, loses are more common and more frequent in gambling than winning.
And let's not forget that casinos are built as a business that likely employs people and pays salaries, economic situations and regulatory laws in the various countries where the casino operates may force the management of the casinos to increase their workers salary, and if they must achieve this, then they have to ensure that desperate gamblers are made to lose more money so the casino can make more money in return to pay worker and keep other things running as they should.

[Charcol]

I agree with you that the 2010s were the peak of gambling.At the same time, there were some amazing innovations that took place in the 2010s.

The trend of increasing the house edge is definitely being felt by many. Those who have been betting in the past have clearly understood it. And yes, even though casinos like Stakes have secured demonstrable fairness, the increased house edge is having the opposite effect. This is causing those who believe in the game to go to bed disappointed at the end of the day.

[junder]

The attraction of online gambling makes gamblers moves from offline to online. They see the easiness and convenient of playing online gambling as they can play anywhere. The online casino see this as the opportunity to attract many gamblers so they will make a huge profit.

They still competing each other in getting more and more customers to be their loyal members. They also release so many promotions to attract more people attention and that is work for many casinos.

Some of them realize innovation could gives more chances to attract more gamblers to come. They see innovation can be a key to be big. They will create something that will benefits their members especially their loyal members.

That is the right statement for the current situation which is currently the interest of people who like to gamble is more dominant in online gambling, this is probably because of the easy access to gambling by only using a cellphone and having funds to bet they can do it at home or wherever they want without having to go to a physical casino first which has a distance to travel.
 
With the marketing that is not much different is to offer bonuses or promotions that might attract some players, besides that with the most advertising is that they say that in the casino it is easy to get a win. This is a common thing.
 
And with loyal members it is possible that the casino will give bonuses or promotions more often, but that does not guarantee they will take it because they can ignore it too.

[fruktik]

Even in the last two years, many top online casinos have begun to acquire their own ambassadors, some of whom are quite recognizable. Large casinos are sponsoring top clubs and supporting local sports, which is good on one hand, but also creates a dependency on this sponsorship. Online casino marketing has become more popular and much more aggressive, appealing to all age groups. While online gambling was somewhat unpopular 10 years ago, today it's become extremely commonplace.

Marketing has clearly gone overboard in recent years. Ads are popping up everywhere, and they're becoming increasingly intrusive. Even some new films can't be watched without ads, which can be quite unpleasant, ruining the overall impression of the film. I understand that brand promotion is necessary, but this has clearly become too much. In some applications the situation is exactly the same.

[lovesmayfamilis]

Everything that happened with gambling can be compared with many things that were conceived as something useful and harmless, but there were those who realized that it could be abused. There are many examples, starting from the very creation of the Internet and then social networks. Wherever people make even the slightest profit, there will be abuse, deception, and a desire for quick and easy enrichment. Therefore, everything that we liked in the past always gives off a certain pleasant experience and nostalgia.

[Alex077]

Step back from provable fairness: Many major casinos that used to host a plethora of provably fair games now feature thousands of games that aren't provably fair...

I have mentioned on some of my posts on this board before that there is nothing like provably fairness when it comes to gambling, but some people will go against me. They said the games are provably fair, but we should know that there is also house edge which is the opposite of probably fair. I think something that is provably fair should have 50:50 chance of the gambers and casinos to win or lose, but this is not how gambling is on the gambling sites...

I think that the main issue is that a lot of casinos use “provably fair” more as a marketing buzzword than an actual game-changing feature, so many gamblers start seeing it as proof of fully fair and equal odds, even though that’s far from the truth. If a game has, say, a 96% RTP, then even with a fully transparent and verifiable system, the mathematical advantage is still on the casino’s side. So it’s more about transparency of the result, not about removing the house edge completely. A casino can easily make a game provably fair while increasing the house edge at the same time. It’s more about being able to verify that you weren’t cheated beyond the math advantage the casino already has built into the game.

[xenomorfo]

I hold the thesis that online gambling reached its peak in the 10s decade.

Provable fairness, low house edge, no KYC, instant crypto deposits and withdrawals, original browser-based games without add-ons or third party providers, custom win-rate games like with crypto-dice. It was all achieved within this timespan.

The trend now especially post-pandemic has been a reversal of nice trends that we saw in iGaming.

I'll summarize some of the worst trends I see now:

Promotion of slots: casinos realized they can rake in millions by promoting the most addictive games. Nice animations but terrible RTP.
Increasing house edge: Many casinos that focus on slots have been silently increasing the RTP on their slots. Stake is a major example. Some crypto casinos now even completely removed any crypto-dice games they had.
Increased volatility: Now without games like dice where players can play for low multipliers and enjoy longer runs, risk of ruin is higher and runs last a shorter time as aiming for high payouts can result in going bust much faster. It's all about fast money for the casinos now.
Step back from provable fairness: Many major casinos that used to host a plethora of provably fair games now feature thousands of games that aren't provably fair.

There are exceptions of course. For instance Stake recently made the slots they've made provably fair, which means hundreds of slot games on their site are now provably fair. But this also happened with an increase in house edge... Interesting to consider that while the game results are now proven to be pre-determined, the odds became worse alongside that.

There's very little innovation nowdays. Interesting how crypto casinos have come to function without competition in terms of innovation even though they're holding competing products, supposedly.

The only innovation they make is to make them more money.
The other day I was looking at live dealer baccarat, a very traditionally low risk casino game, and the dealer was forced to promote side bets every 2 rounds. Kinda makes sense because the house edge of baccarat is around 1.24% whereas side bets have a whooping 10% house edge which is so crazy to consider.

More than anything at the moment there are no innovations, as you say, the games are the same, the methods are the same... in the long run people get bored being in front of the computer, we should find a way to make it more dynamic and nicer to play and use.

[alani123]

Lots of people here are completely misunderstanding the purpose of this thread.

Enshitification means that something isbecoming gworse.
Of course we're not judging this from the perspective of the casino. Out of the thousands of users of this forum maybe 2 own  ccasino so it's not even up for discussion what the perspective of the casino is. It does not concern player experience.

What concerns us is the player experience. For instance, Baccarat 10 or so years ago had no sidebets. Or at least, if you sat on the table, you weren't spammed about something that has 10% house edge every round.

Now, the spam is full head on. This makes more profit for the casino but actively makes the player experience worse.

And this is one of the many examples of how player experience is worsened.

[Hispo]

There's very little innovation nowdays. Interesting how crypto casinos have come to function without competition in terms of innovation even though they're holding competing products, supposedly.

There is not as much innovation as before because casinos realized they did not have to innovate on anything in order to continue to get massive amount of money or even increase their profits through time.
If gamblers started to ask massively for new games and gambling experiences in order to get their dopamine dose, then casino would find themselves in a situation in which they did not have much option beyond launching new games, and new ways to interact with other gamblers (PvP casino games).
But due confirmism and the fact most gamblers are okey with the current trend and current games, there is no rush from casinos to give new things to us.

That is reality, and we have to recognize it before we even think we can possibly change something so we get better ways to get entertainment from gambling.

[famososMuertos]

The truth is, it's a related example, but what you mention has the hallmarks of planned obsolescence. Everything you buy now has an expiration date embedded in it; things aren't manufactured like they used to be...

So, in that sense, your point makes sense. Original games don't even bother to innovate or be different anymore; they're practically a template, and if they even have one.

But that's the nature of the gambling or where it tends to be heading. Fortunately, not everyone has that goal, or at least they try to maintain certain traditional approaches.

[alani123]

The truth is, it's a related example, but what you mention has the hallmarks of planned obsolescence. Everything you buy now has an expiration date embedded in it; things aren't manufactured like they used to be...

So, in that sense, your point makes sense. Original games don't even bother to innovate or be different anymore; they're practically a template, and if they even have one.

But that's the nature of the gambling or where it tends to be heading. Fortunately, not everyone has that goal, or at least they try to maintain certain traditional approaches.

I don't see the connection with planned obsolescence.
Gambling innovation was something that crypto gambling was known for. Low house edge, no KYC and provable fairness. Nowadays it's all the same with traditional casinos mostly. Opacity over odds calculation on most games, no provable fairness, spam ads about high house edge games etc.

Gambling isn't compared to a 2023 iPhone becoming slower. You can still play the old games that are having provable algorithms behind them. But the issue here is something else. The overall experience becomes worse because now the main theme of most casinos is promoting the shittiest practices of gambling and you have to go out of your way to find a couple good games even.

[freedomgo]

There are exceptions of course. For instance Stake recently made the slots they've made provably fair, which means hundreds of slot games on their site are now provably fair. But this also happened with an increase in house edge... Interesting to consider that while the game results are now proven to be pre-determined, the odds became worse alongside that.

This is something we don’t usually look at, but somehow we feel it while playing.

Sometimes when we play slots and we get lucky, maybe it is because the house edge is lower at that time. Then when they bring it back to normal or increase it, that is when they start taking profits again. So if the house edge of slots can really be adjusted, then there is no way we can consistently win.

And it feels so timely because in the past few days, I felt something weird. I was consistently losing. It happened before too, but that was already a long time ago.
Honestly, I don’t really bother checking if the games are provably fair or not because I trust the game providers and the casinos offering them. Before a game is offered, it should already be approved under a license. But still, I have this feeling that somehow it can be manipulated. So what I learned from this experience is not to take these types of games too seriously. Just play for fun, and only with minimal money.

[Accardo]

There is not as much innovation as before because casinos realized they did not have to innovate on anything in order to continue to get massive amount of money or even increase their profits through time.
If gamblers started to ask massively for new games and gambling experiences in order to get their dopamine dose, then casino would find themselves in a situation in which they did not have much option beyond launching new games, and new ways to interact with other gamblers (PvP casino games).
But due confirmism and the fact most gamblers are okey with the current trend and current games, there is no rush from casinos to give new things to us.

That is reality, and we have to recognize it before we even think we can possibly change something so we get better ways to get entertainment from gambling.

Online casinos imported slot games, a game gamblers won't get tired of playing, compulsion goes with these games, nobody would come up with the idea that they don't want to play that kind of game anymore. Gaming providers only make the atmosphere look better on Phones and PC, where users access the gaming platforms, it's rare to think or imagine some entirely possible new game that'll enable players beat the house to the punch and make them come up with something new. If something like that would happen then it has to be from an existing casino whose intention is to dominate the system ahead of others, by implementing a fresh game that'll make players flock to their platform, maybe they'll make it look like it pays out more money.