The Evolution of Online Casino Games

[Webzcas]

Over the past decade, online casino games have come a long way, from basic slot machines to immersive video slots, live dealer games, and even blockchain-based innovations.

The problem I see though is that pretty much everything has been done, hence all the numerous clones of classic slots in particular. It also doesn't help when RTP's across the board seem to be getting ever lower and lower as time moves on.

When I started out in the industry back in October 2000, online casinos were exciting and fun. Yet now, it seems that casinos could have thousands of games in their portfolio, yet the magic and allure is not there any more. Is this just me or is this a feeling of many here?

 

[steveh35]

It's because they all copy the same format now, every release is "three pots" crap or a "jackpot" game where you will only win the mini option.

When one comes up with an idea all the rest must follow, ie fishing games or book games.

 

[Wait!What?]

Casinos now need to look in other directions and not just the slots aspect. To bring old players back to gambling they should offer "GAMBLING LOANS". A gambler can mortgage their partner, kids, grandparents, parents and friends for these loans.

 

[Reelsoffun]

Casinos now need to look in other directions and not just the slots aspect. To bring old players back to gambling they should offer "GAMBLING LOANS". A gambler can mortgage their partner, kids, grandparents, parents and friends for these loans.

Just imagine if you could? LOL yes I did it in AI

 

[Valge]

Honestly, not surprised the magic has faded a bit. When every new release is basically a reskin of something that already worked, it stops feeling like a new game and starts feeling like a software update. One studio does well with a concept, and suddenly there are 200 variations of it within 18 months.

The interesting stuff is happening outside: crypto platforms, provably fair games, prediction mechanics, but that world sits in a regulatory grey zone that mainstream casinos won't touch. Whether any of it ever crosses over is genuinely unclear.

 

[sufferinsilence]

Honestly, not surprised the magic has faded a bit. When every new release is basically a reskin of something that already worked, it stops feeling like a new game and starts feeling like a software update. One studio does well with a concept, and suddenly there are 200 variations of it within 18 months.

The interesting stuff is happening outside: crypto platforms, provably fair games, prediction mechanics, but that world sits in a regulatory grey zone that mainstream casinos won't touch. Whether any of it ever crosses over is genuinely unclear.

Please do tell why crypto platforms are more interesting. In the end they offer the same games as the regular casinos.

I have to say that I'm interested by the predictive markets but not in a way they're ran now. Insider trading and all that seems to run rampant.

I think casinos and bookies have to evolve and include fantasy sports (like Draftkings) in the future. It seems to be a huge untapped market in Europe whilst having a huge crowd in the USA. There are even some (shady?) sites where you can buy shares in peoples fantasy teams. It works a bit like staking a poker player.

 

[lockinlove]

The downfall of microgaming library hasnt helped at all. We lost a tonne of incredible games.

Game of thrones, Jurassic Park, The dark Knight and LOTR jackpot slots to name a few.

BTG came along and brought something new and enticing but that too has runs its course and on lowered RTP.



RTP being lowered just forces casual gamblers to quit. I doubt they are retaining many new players anymore. Its all quick greed with no long term plans. The industry is surviving off all the players who have been around and are still hanging around.

Anyone I know who tries online slots for the first time rarely go back. Its not very fun to sign up to a casino and play on 92% rtp slots, get destroyed and no entertainment value.

Slot providers dont know it yet but one day they will be out of a job or surviving on fumes. If they want to survive, stop offering casinos low RTP.

There is no reason an online casino needs to offer 92% slots aside from instant greed. They dont have anywhere near the overhead landbased casinos do...yet they offer the same rtp.

If you want to make a player feel ripped off and they end up closing their accounts well continue with the low rtp nonsense.

 

[Avernite]

Slots have lost their charm. Think early NetEnt, Elk and Thunderkick games. Bright, colorful, unique designs. RTP was solid so you could have a long weekend with one deposit.

Now it's all the same stale reskins with crap RTP so you have to spend 5x as much for a days gameplay. They also feel so predictable

 

[teckiwi]

It's because they are all competing for the new slots section at casinos and every day theres new titles driving your new one further down that list. Hence you can't spend the big money and man hours working on a more unique title unless it's a huge IP/followup to a popular slot.

These days they are even taking the name rights of other classic slots(ie Wild Swarm or Dead or Alive) and producing completely new titles(DoA3, Wild Swarm: Triple Hive) that are nothing close to the original titles but are banking on the name.

 

[Lemon]

People have worked out that you don't need to be creative and innovative any more to succeed in this industry. You can simply follow trends and shove your games in players' faces to ensure they gain traction.

The hard work gets done by other, genuinely talented people and you can just come along afterwards and rip their games off in the most low-effort way possible. Reel Kingdom is the most obvious example; two years of producing dogshit, then they get lucky with a couple of rip-offs of Fishing Frenzy and then the rest of their catalogue is just lazy follow-up slop with the bare minimum of innovation applied. It shouldn't be that easy to earn a living in the industry, but sadly it is. If you asked them to come up with something from scratch that hadn't been done before, they wouldn't be able to do it because they're not really interested in games; all they're interested in is riding on peoples' coat-tails and making easy money.

10-15 years ago you had the likes of WMS and NetEnt who were producing genuinely exciting and innovative games that had real depth to them and drove the industry forwards, and players actively sought these providers and their games out because they were all unique and incredibly well designed. Now we've got an infestation of slots like Big Bass from faceless studios set up by parasites in suits. Anything new and innovative gets quickly buried by this mass-produced dross so it's off the front page and out of players' minds.

It's an industry that rewards greed and laziness unfortunately.

 

[Lemon]

Casinos now need to look in other directions and not just the slots aspect. To bring old players back to gambling they should offer "GAMBLING LOANS". A gambler can mortgage their partner, kids, grandparents, parents and friends for these loans.

What happens if you bet your wife on a hand of blackjack, and get dealt a blackjack? Do you win a extra wife-and-a-half?

 

[2Slots]

I started playing slots 15 months ago and I wrote off nearly all slots. Once I had played a lot of slots it was obvious many were so similar with different graphics and mostly bonus or bust designs with no base game.

Something that amazed me was the amount of slots that had gimmicks which were just for show and said so in the game info i.e. 'glowing pots don't indicate anything and are just for show'.

I'd have quit within 2 months if I hadn't gone out of my way to find this forum and look for old slots. 4 out of 5 slots I mostly play now are 10yrs or older.

The older slots were probably designed from the ground up as the innovations would have to be programmed from scratch. There may have been a lot more cost involved in the development as well than there is now so more thought and skill would have gone in to them to make them popular and playable.

I would think that in 2026 most studios are using custom platforms and engines to create their slots so it might be more like using a slot design program with options to choose than developing a slot like in the past.

 

[hughdal]

I disagree with the doom and naysayers. I think there are wins to be had even in these trying lower RTP times. But you have to be very selective and play smart. I’ve managed to grow my bankroll over the last 3 months by around 25% just by avoiding my usual dumb moves that cost me in every session. Just going to throw my thoughts out to all the meisters, why not.

I still stick with my don’t play rule and that’s comes down to:

Collector Games: (Game of Thrones, King Kong franchise) Whether it be 3 pots to fill or a volcano filling with lava the cons the same, exciting visuals on every spin as the pot grows but no substance.

Scripted Games: You know the ones, multiple ways to advance and win. Graphically exciting but you’ll never get to the big bonus. I actually wasted £100 on a scripted game. Got to the absolute end with every box filled, every pot filled and……. nothing. I don’t think the coders thought anyone would be dumb enough to play this far so they just let it loop over and over again.

Trademark games. The percentages are obvious; the game developer pays the trademark owner (Flintstones / Superman / Fabulous 4) a % to use the name and images. Add in development costs, UKGC charges, etc and RTP plummets ever further.

Fishing games. Not because they are a beat into the (water) concept. It’s because they have nothing else to offer but 2 wins, a group of fish on reels 1-2-3 and a scatter win.

What to avoid:

Slots with bad or non-existent line hits. A 20 pence line hit on a 40 pence bet is not a winner but it’s a bank roll extender. You are losing but not your full bet. Occasional line hits are a requirement for my slot choices.

Maximum 10 spins per session for any game played. There’s a saying in poker that if you don’t recognize the fish at the table in a dozen hands then it’s probably you. The same holds true for playing slots.

Cheap looking games. If a developer releases a 3 x 3 grid game with crappy graphics, dull music and no creativity then there are no wins. Avoid, it’s the software equivalent of a scam in my opinion.

Look out for false promises. Good example is the headline: Jackpot 5000X win - $10,000 Jackpot. Then look at the Mini Jackpot -payout $4. It doesn’t compute.

My favorites. (Wolf Legend, Diamond Mine, Buffalo) Games that are visually perfect, exciting and fun to play. But they are not bank roll builders. Yes, they are Megaways too. Shame that everyone has to pay the Megaway patent owner a %. Another built in drop of RTP.

Games I’m playing now:

Old school favorites. 3 scatters to win on a 3 x 5 grid. No side games, no collectors, think DOA1/2, Rick Wilde collection, Eye of Houris collection.

Jack Pot King jackpots. You would say never but think about it. The game developers know you’re not going to do 100 dead head spins hoping for 3 million dollars so they build in smaller wins. Play these games for a win not the jackpot

I’m enjoying Hacksaw slots. Bad line hits but hitting the scatters can pay well. I’ve had 300x wins on 40 pence bets on several occasions recently.

Any new game. It only takes one software coder to put in a bad line of code and that could deliver a big win. Worth 10 spins.

Hughdal