Think of board games today and you probably still picture something on a tabletop. There’s a sort of classic, retro vibe associated with board games that has kept people attached to their original, physical versions. Despite this, lots of popular board games have gone digital, with mobile app stores and even some gaming consoles offering downloadable electronic versions. At the same time as digital versions of board games have become more popular, another ‘retro’ gaming category has evolved significantly. The past decade has brought about a total reimagining of casino gaming online. Before the transformation, internet-based casinos were basically less-than-thrilling imitations of real-world games — and primarily poker. Now, casino gaming platforms go well beyond stale poker rooms and lazily built virtual slot machines. Look at most any reputable site today and you’ll find excellent, well-made entertainment with eye-catching graphics, covering games including (but not limited to) poker, slots, roulette, jackpots, blackjack and more.
The reason we bring up both of these points — the availability of digital board games and the evolution of online casinos — is that it’s about time the two overlap. It’s a fun idea first and foremost, but there are also clear reasons why it makes sense for online casinos to embrace and adapt board games. 1 - Spiking Popularity In 2016, Vice published an article proclaiming that board games were ‘cool’ again. It was an appropriate article at the time, remarking on the emergence of ‘board game bars’ and the surging popularity of tabletop gaming. If anything though, the article almost came too early. In the years since, board games have continued to grow trendier. They were also hailed as a ‘godsend’ by some people during the pandemic, when entertainment and social activity were hard to come by. It is clear at this point that by embracing board games, casino platforms would be getting in on type of gaming on the rise. 2 - New Audiences We can’t say exactly how much or how little overlap there may be between online casino players and board game enthusiasts. We confidently suspect, however, that there is a large population of gamers in the latter category who have never bothered to explore internet casinos very much. That may change if those casinos find creative ways to work betting into popular board and tabletop games. Essentially, this means casinos likely stand to rope in sizable new audiences simply by setting up virtual board games with gambling components. 3 - Live Potential ‘Live’ gaming has caught on at casino sites of late, and primarily refers to games like roulette and blackjack in which human dealers are able to run games over video. But the concept is already evolving beyond a few standard casino games. Most notably, there are now live game shows on the Gala Casino platform, where live game managers spin wheels, pose questions, and so on. Board gaming would represent another way to build on the live gaming concept. Players would have a great deal of fun playing board games with live game managers moving pieces, reading out cards, and such like. 4 - Ready-Made Themes In addition to game quality and variety, casino sites today also thrive on their use of an endless range of themes. When there are slot machines based on Roman gladiators, ‘80s rock bands, and Wonder Woman, it’s fair to say that there’s probably something for everyone. And it just so happens that board games can more or less make the same claim. In the more expansive tabletop community there are games covering all sorts of fun characters and subjects. The Hadrian’s Wall game we profiled recently almost resembles some of the ancient world games you find in slot collections. And of course, games like Monopoly have been remade with all sorts of different pop culture material. All of this variety suits the casino category perfectly, and would further contribute to board games being perfect fits. 5 - Successful Examples Once again, there are already plenty of examples of board games being adapted into digital form. There was a successful version of Monopoly for mobile devices a decade ago, and several other prominent board games followed. Titles like Trivial Pursuit and Battleship can be played on PlayStation consoles, and the list goes on. What you may not realise though is that there are also successful examples already on casino sites. There are slot reels based on Cluedo and Monopoly for instance, and even one of the aforementioned live game shows has a Monopoly-driven twist to it as well. These aren’t quite the digital board games rebuilt for betting that we’re imagining. But they are successful games in the casino space, which one can only imagine would lead to interest in more content. The idea makes a lot of sense, all things considered. And the way online casinos are developing, it’s not unlikely that some version of these adaptations will be brought about before long.