Baccarat, a thrilling yet little-known casino game, traces its roots back to 15th-century Italy and France but has become widely known in US casinos over the past 30 years.
The latest evolution of baccarat takes advantage of current technologies to modernize and globalise the game – progress bars and achievements bring a healthy dose of gamification in order to motivate and lock-in the user to the experience.
Artificial Intelligence
It has been breaking onto the scene of online casinos and is proving to be a promotional flagship of the iGaming sector. Latest technologies are being applied to optimise the game experience, making it look like many more baccarat players can be expected in the near future as well.
This ‘social’ element of online baccarat allows players to experience a physical casino from the comforts of their home, increasing player participation at the table and drawing new players to the game. Features such as chat and profile customisation facilitate camaraderie among players: it is more than just winning and losing, it is sharing experiences, opinions and banter – a whole community experience.
For instance, the use of AI can enhance the player’s experience by making the gaming feel more realistic through, say, remote dealer interaction that seem to respond to player behaviour that leads to, among other things, more individualised gaming. Machine Learning (ML) models can likewise improve prediction, responding iteratively to repeated examination of data in order to find the optimal answers to tackle many different problems, including predicting losses that can be prevented by the application of informed human decision making processes.
Gamification
Baccarat is a simple game, with low minimum investments — a popular addition to many casinos, including James Bond’s Casino Royale.
Gamification is also another big change for the future of baccarat. By incorporating gaming components into the baccarat platform, casinos can increase players’ interest in their baccarat game by inviting them to play it more often – adding features such as progress bars, achievements and challenges can increase engagements and also improve gaming experiences.
Another strong point highlighted by Baccarat’s ascent is mobile versions of the game. Baccarat is now on the go – via the device you use to call a taxi, pay a bill or fill a minute waiting for a dentist appointment. For modern audiences that now expect convenience on par with personal speed and access, this is a valuable lesson on designing games for more than one platform. Whether playing on desktop computers, smartphones or tablets, our expectation is that the experience should be the same.
Mobile Gaming
Mobile gaming means that baccarat is no longer tied to certain locations. The game can now be played on home computers and desktops, also on smart phones and tablets, and unlike table games, you can play it any time, anywhere.
Mobile baccarat requires different development standards to standard desktop games. This includes user interface for smaller screens, assuring cross-platform compatibility, and designing graphics interactive with touch controls.
Blockchain is now emerging as one of the central innovations in online baccarat game developments, as a provably fair system where every card dealt, shuffled and played, along with the outcome of the game, is recorded and saved on an unalterable ledger so that players can verify the integrity of the game. Promoting trust between players and casinos, it also provides online banking activity immunity from cyberattacks.
Virtual Reality
Not long ago, VR transformed online gaming, and this has allowed players to play VIRTUALLY at a casino table, as if it was a real one – yet, you’re playing right at your home from anywhere in the world.
With VR baccarat technology, the innovation connects the physical and digital worlds together to offer the gamers a larger field of vision and a completely immersive user experience. Therefore, baccarat players could benefit from more natural and intuitive gameplay. Besides, the innovation of non-remote VR Baccarat game can also be played using voice commands or hand gestures, which are more friendly to modern day gamblers.
Online forms of baccarat have a bright future, too: gamification, esports, increased mobile access and further advances in AI are opening up entirely new markets and fostering a sense of camaraderie around play.
