Will VR/AR Casinos Remain a Gimmick or Finally Go Mainstream?

Although some players have done their best to champion concepts such as VR and AR, due to popular beliefs held about how they make the gambling experience more immersive and sociable, online casinos have been a bit more reluctant to adopt these ideas.

As such, VR and AR casinos remain a novelty. There is, of course, no denying that both have obvious appeal. Nevertheless, mainstream gambling products usually win when they are convenient rather than sacrificing substance for style.

But do VR and AR casinos have what it takes to break through and make an impact in the mainstream, or will they continue to be considered a gimmick? This guide attempts to tackle this fundamental question.

Stuck in the experimental stage

VR casinos find themselves stuck in the experimental stage, meaning full integration has so far proved to be difficult. UK players have arguably become creatures of habit, and at live casinos, for example, the quality of native apps available is deemed the main yardstick for measuring their respective successes. Players can make the most of communicating with a live dealer while on the move, enhancing real interactions, and process of placing bets has become seamless.

With VR casinos, there is some pushback, and that is largely down to the comfort issues with wearing a headset. Motion sickness is a valid concern, as some players can experience nausea or dizziness when using VR for extended periods, ultimately limiting their appeal.

While VR hardware has improved significantly, battery life can also be problematic. Wireless headsets may offer more freedom, but they usually need to be charged every few hours, while wired headsets can be more cumbersome to set up.

Other challenges to contend with

Compared to smartphones, VR casinos require more effort, and there are other teething issues at play, preventing a smooth introduction into the mainstream. Buying a VR headset isn’t cheap, with premium headsets such as the Meta Quest 3 costing anywhere between £300 and £1,000.

Often, VR headsets require a high-end PC, which adds to the overall expense, and for some, this presents a greater barrier to entry. Interestingly, older consumer research carried out by Fifty5 Blue showed that only 3% of adults claimed to have their own VR headset. ^[1] However, this should serve as a cautionary figure as ownership and active use aren’t the same thing; regular use through VR has a high behavioural hurdle to overcome.

VR also has safety and data privacy challenges to work through, and these are similar to those faced by online casinos since their inception. Developers are being forced to come up with new encryption and verification methods, many of which aren’t fully tried and tested, making VR in its current state to gamble online more risky.

Digging into the numbers

A cursory glance at the numbers illustrates that UK online casinos are thriving without VR and AR. Online casino games generated £4.4 billion in gross gambling yield (GGY), of which £3.6 billion was from slots. ^[2]

In total, the Remote Casino, Betting, and Bingo Sector (RCBB) sector generated £6.9 billion in GGY between April 2023 and March 2024, indicating a 6.9% increase compared to the period covering April 2022 to March 2023. This seems to suggest that mainstream growth in the online casino set is mobile-led as opposed to being headset-led.