When most people hear the word casino, they immediately imagine the world’s entertainment capitals like Las Vegas or Macau. However, this is far from the case. There is another popular form of a casino, which was created alongside the development of modern technology.
A social casino is a program or website that allows you to play popular games such as roulette, poker, slot machines, blackjack, as well as the best real dealer games available online. This gaming was formed as a result of combining the video game industry and online gambling, which contributed to the popularity of social networks.
Despite the name, the games in the social casino are intended for entertainment purposes only. A player does not bet real money while playing and does not receive real financial income in the case of winning. In addition, social games allow you to interact with other players just like in online games. However, what are the peculiarities and pitfalls of this business?
How do Social Casinos Differ from Online Casinos?
The biggest difference between online and social casinos is the use of real money. But there are a number of other differences. In particular, social casinos:
- are not exactly gambling;
- are available to people who do not play for moral, religious, or other personal reasons;
- provide no money risk;
- allow playing with friends;
- offer a wider variety of games;
- are available with mobile applications;
- allow boosting your skills.
A social casino player is a representative of a community of Internet users for whom the most important element is entertainment and integration with society.
Where to Find Social Casino Games?
You can play social casino games anywhere and anytime with the help of applications and special social platforms on the network. Most applications are fully compatible with all mobile devices. So, depending on the operating system of the gadget, it is possible to download them from the App Store or Play Market. Thanks to the whole section devoted to casino games, you can even play them on Facebook on your computer.
How do Social Casinos Earn If the Games are Free?
Social casinos are among the most profitable in the market. Recently, GameRefinery has published a large study of the American social casino market. In Q4 2020, social casinos became the second highest-grossing mobile gaming category in the US. According to the study, social casinos have generated 17% of the total income of the American App Store.
They receive income based on the pay-to-win or freemium model. Such casinos offer games for free but encourage people to spend real money on extra entertainment. Most developers make money by integrating shopping options in the application. To participate in more games, players spend a small amount of money on packages of additional virtual chips, gifts for friends, and more. Also, social games often offer to watch promotional videos for rewards or bonuses.
20% of the most popular games in the genre use the following mechanics:
- regular live events (available in 100% of top projects),
- irregular live events (93%),
- progressive jackpot (93%),
- piggy bank (87%),
- and dynamic standings (80%).
At the same time, the popularity of these mechanics in general across social casinos is sometimes very different. For example, the piggy bank is used only in 36% of all projects, despite its success and presence in most of the top titles.
Guilds are another feature of social casinos. They are well suited to projects in this genre and help developers integrate other cool features such as co-op missions and competitions into their titles.
So, excitement, competition, and collecting are the main motivators of social casino players.
Market Leaders
Social media gambling is an especially promising market sector for companies, as there is no such thing as winning in real money, unlike land-based casinos and traditional online casinos. Therefore, more and more companies are looking to join this fast-growing sector. For example, Caesars Entertainment Corporation, the owner of Caesars Palace, has bought Playtika for $80 million.
Caesars became one of the first operators in the industry to see the potential of the market, thanks to which, back in 2011, it became the owner of a stake in Playtika. Over the following years, the company has been developing, strengthening its position, acquiring new companies, and expanding its client base.
The operator’s daily audience exceeds 5.7 million active users. This figure reaches 18.6 million per month, and the number of unique monthly users – 16.8 million. No other casino can boast such numbers.
Another company that is actively developing its games in the social sector is DoubleDown. It mainly focuses on roulette, blackjack, slot games, and video poker.
In Conclusion
As you can see, casinos on social networks are a promising trend for developers and investors, which may exist independently of the online sector. Meanwhile, such casinos are a great way to boost player’s skills in games like blackjack or poker. This can give you a better chance of winning the game at a real casino.
