Back in the early 2010s, Facebook was still a work in progress. The social media platform allowed you to post your thoughts, display your day to day activities and also post pictures. Messenger was introduced as a dance partner to Facebook, with the addition of Facebook games that allowed users to play against each other.
Our Facebook pages were dominated by adverts about Farmville, Candy Crush Saga, Mafia Wars and a variety of bingo games. Where before you had to make it to a landbased or an online casino to play games, Facebook took over. This is when the one stop shop concept was implemented: social activity, gaming with friends and chatting away. Social networks took over the world by storm.
How Social Casinos dominated the 2000s
There were no flashy big wins, you land daily free credits, and you play along. The more game credits you win, the more time to play more. That is the concept, along with exchange gifts, collection items and virtual rewards. You gamble for free, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose whilst playing with your friends and teams.
Social casinos were and potentially still are the highlight of the 2000 social media boom. You open your game via the facebook platform, and invite your other friends to join the fun. If there is something that social casinos did well is connect people, give the habit of daily visits to the game (via free bonuses) and also offering a gambling arena, without spending a dime.
The introduction of Pack buying
The evolution of social casinos did not stop there. Game developers and Facebook needed to find a way to get more player engagement. The F2P (Free to Play) concept was working, yet players craved more. This is where packs were introduced, where the game offers you a set of items needed in the game in exchange for money. Packs come in tiers, with a variety of price tags attached. The one common denominator in packs is credits you get in exchange, valuable denominations that can be used in the game to advance more and play further.
Teams within Social Casinos
Social casinos have 2 concepts in mind, to offer you a fun social arena for you to play, and also a ‘play with your peers’ setting. Social Games that are connected to Facebook and other social gaming platforms allow you to add friends via your FB facebook list, and also add peers which are not connected to you on the platform.
Games such as Bingo Blitz, Bingo Journey and Bingo Frenzy also offer you the possibility of joining Teams. Teams allow you to join up with around 20 other people, where together you complete missions, and go head to head against other teams on the leaderboard. The team spirit might push players to try and achieve more, possibly buy into game packs to succeed and contribute to the overall team. Whilst players do not gamble for actual money, they gamble for feeling the buzz, the excitement, the status and even the progression.
Is social gaming gambling?
A p2p concept is always deemed as gambling. This is when you wager a small amount of money to get a better return. When players use their own money to buy into an offer, that is indeed classified as gambling, yet where are the rewards in all of this? Social gambling awards virtual rewards that will see you progress and grow further within the game. You might reach a level, get powerups and game credits, but there is no amount of money for you to withdraw and take home.
Adiela from onlinecasino-southafrica.co.za tells us that online casinos are a completely different ball game. At casino sites, you would need to buy in to play games such as live tables, scratch cards and table games. Whilst many casinos offer you the possibility to test games for free, you would need to deposit real money to be able to take home any winnings. Since regulation took effect in the South African market, Adiela has observed a surge in so-called “fun” games that are deliberately designed to funnel players toward real money gambling.
What do players prefer online casinos or social games?
If there is something that social gaming excels in, it is the social setting that they provide. You can use the chat function to chat with other players, trade cards, trade items and finish off your in game collections. The notion of having team goals, team rewards and also competition vs. other teams is also alluring. But, even if you win a million game coins, there is no actual money for you to get your hands on.
This is where online casinos come into play. Players have the option to test their game skills at social casinos, build skills, strategy and knowledge that you can later apply to online casinos. If you want to indulge into some Texas Hold’em at online casinos, we urge you to visit social gaming hubs first. The Facebook Texas Hold’Em is a powerhouse, and allows you to play daily tasks, send chips to friends and also buy into poker tournaments. This gaming time is needed if you want to transition to online sites where the real money fun is happening. This is where you learn the game rules, how to bluff, and how to play with top tier players. Once you gain enough skills and game knowledge, you can easily transition to money gambling, with a bigger chance of winning.
What does the future hold?
The future of social gaming is already here. We are living in a day and era where game development houses go head to head on offering players a great gaming experience. What started as a spammy feeling social game, has now morphed into polished mobile driven experiences, powered by casual casino mechanics. We are currently experiencing games to let players win without spending. Other games reward players for their skill, participation and also time involved playing the game. These games are also used to promote other types of real gambling.
The social gaming audience has widened beyond traditional punters to casual players who are just looking to have fun. Whether the player is F2P or P2P, is always an option, with many social games now offering pack buyins and incentives. We cannot envision this fun gaming sphere to end. In pandemic times, we looked forward to playing with family a good old game of Facebook Scrabble, and today we binge on polishing our Blackjack and Poker skills with friends.
The knowledge that you gain from playing social games is immense and also builds you up to playing for real prizes at real casinos. This is the evolution that we never talk about. It is really, it is happening, and it will keep on growing and evolving.
