The number of people playing games online surges year-to-year, and an ever-growing sub-genre are titles where players compete against software en route to cash prizes. The online casino industry brings in annual revenues of $66 billion, and according to the latest projections, this figure will grow to $93 billion in 2024. A crucial component of this sector’s growth is gambling games where luck is not the only factor in play.
In February of 2016, New Jersey and Nevada passed legislation that allowed gambling operators to introduce skill-based games to attract younger demographics. Newer generations are not as enticed by the random nature of the spin of the wheel or roll of the die. They want to be able to control things.
Developers have been trying to cater to these demographics by producing titles with skill-based bonus rounds, long before Jersey and Nevada passed their laws. Video game gambling machines are not a new thing. Therefore, nowadays, being skillful can lead to monetary gain on your gaming adventures.
What Are Video Game Gambling Machines
At first sight, laypeople will not be able to distinguish a skill-based slot from a traditional reel-spinner. They both operate in the same way. You set a bet amount, press spin, and wait for lady luck to answer if you are in her good graces or not. The base gameplay in skill-based slots is usually no different than that in regular ones. A computer algorithm called a random number generator (RNG) spits out sets of numbers that determine what symbol combinations the reels will form. The process occurs via a set of complex preprogrammed mathematical operations, and it is entirely indiscriminate. However, when you are playing a skill-based title, it will feature one or more bonus games where your choices directly affect the round result.
To illustrate the concept, let us say that you are playing a vehicle racing-themed title, and if you land the necessary Scatter or Bonus symbols, you will trigger the skill-based round. Once inside, you may get access to controls that allow you to steer your avatar vehicle as it races against others. Depending on your finish, you will win a corresponding cash prize. The RNGs influence here is smaller as compared to in the base game.
Naturally, these bonus mini-games are not limited to only races but can also involve gun shootouts, penalty kicks, ariel combat, and more. You can find many terrific casino website reviews that house such titles at OnlineUnitedStatesCasinos.com.
Statistics say a significant drop off in interest regarding classic casino games from generations born post-1995. Young people today crave interaction due to growing up at a time where smartphone gaming was the norm. Since they are used to playing video games, the concept of risking money on titles where only fate has a say is unappealing.
Wrecking Ball
Released in 2017 by International Game Technology (IGT), Wrecking Ball is one of the best performing slots that features a skill element. Nevada-based Crazy Tooth Studio is the development team behind this highly innovative title, which utilizes a demolition theme. The game plays out on a Tetris-like grid with four reels, where each one has a different number of rows. If you land the Bonus symbol on reels one and four, you’ll activate the Smash mini-game, where you get to sling a wrecking ball onto random icons for cash prizes. You move a joystick around and pick which building you want to smash. Each hides a different reward. The bonus round has three tiers. The first level can win you extra credits, while the second and the third also award multipliers and more hits using the virtual crane.
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
You may remember a legendary quiz show that asked this rhetorical question. It was the most watch program on US television twenty years ago, and the same holds for many countries around the globe. In 2018, Australian developer Big Time Gaming, the highly-creative Megaways engine’s inventor, released a slot version of the famous TV show. A year prior, the company had outbid other industry juggernauts and purchased the rights from Sony Picture Entertainment to develop a reel-spinner which would utilize the Who Wants to be a Millionaire Concept. In November of 2018, the title hit online casinos, and it featured bonus rounds that mimic those in the famous quiz show. It lets you access the famous three lifelines before you pick your final answer. If you guess correctly, you move a step up the twelve-step ladder on route to more free spins, which you can later use to try and win the max prize worth x50,000 your bet.
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior
Though it does not offer a ton of control options that let you affect results in any massive way, we had to include it on our list because it’s a clone of the original arcade game. There is no other gambling title on the internet that is as faithful to its source as this one. It lets you pick an avatar and do battle on all the levels from the original game. Your character has a Wild Gauge meter, and you fill it via high-pay symbols in winning clusters. You do battle against other characters from the game per round, and there’s a Car Smash Bonus Game and a Beat the Boss Free Spins round. The most you can win on this game is a prize that’s worth x7,000 your bet, which in the world of online slots may not seem like much, but we haven’t mentioned that the max bet size is $700 per spin. The Street Fighter II slot from NetEnt is the best cross-over video game title ever.
Where to Play
Never sign up at a gambling site on a whim. Thousands of platforms offer gambling games online, and a good majority of them are not on the up and up. The digital sphere is crawling with shady sites. Always read online casino reviews at premium info hubs like the one mention above before registering. Quality site suggestions include Betway Casino, 888 Casino, and Jackpot City Casino.
Betway is a global online gambling company with several brands under its belt in each sphere, including sports betting, bingo, poker sites, and an online casino. Though its sportsbook is what the company is most known for, its casino section isn’t shabby at all. Betway sponsors top soccer clubs such as Levante and West Ham United.
888 Casino is an even more established industry juggernaut, as it is part of the massive corporation 888 Holdings, based out of Gibraltar. 888 Holdings has been in the sphere for over twenty years, and this company’s stocks trade on the London Stock Exchange. Jackpot City Casino is another well-renowned digital gaming venue, operational since 1998, with an active user base of over 3.5 million players. These three are among the safest gambling sites in existence, and they can payout any winning amount swiftly.
In Conclusion
Remember slots that feature skill-based mini-games, mechanics-wise, do not differ vastly from regular reel-spinners. Even though they provide more interactivity, if you play these games long enough, you will still not be able to master them to where you can guarantee a payout. At best, if you play their bonus rounds well, you may earn a higher payback than what you would get on your average slot machine.
However, you are still mainly relying on luck. No site will let you play if they know that there is a chance some people may get so good that they’ll lay waste to the computer software. Thus, if you crave interactivity, pick a title from this sub-genre, and enjoy these games for what they are, a mainly luck-based entertaining activity may lead to monetary gain.
