The Power of Friendship: Enhancing Gaming Experiences through Social Gambling

Gambling most likely started out as an activity between friends, and for some games, like Poker, the people who have tried gambling for money in a home game setting far outnumber the people who have played in a casino, online or offline. Playing for money is a whole different ball game than a normal “for fun” board game. It introduces another aspect, and for many, this aspect ruins the “for fun” version. Ask an avid poker player if they’d like to play for “points” and he’ll most likely decline. No risk, no reward, in their mind.

As we discussed in our article on “What triggers gambling?“, peer pressure is a key driver when it comes to starting to gamble. It is epitomized in Poker, where each bet puts pressure on the receiver to Call, or show weakness and fold. It is the ultimate peer pressure situation.

Gambling for money with friends can easily turn sour, especially if people are not able to resist their inner demons and bet more than they can afford to lose. Remember: Never gamble on credit, neither in a Casino nor at home.

Gamble with Friends, not against

Gambling against friends is not the only way to enjoy games together. Gambling together with friends can be a great past-time too. Playing slots together, you’re competing for who gets into the free spins feature, but also cheer on each other’s wins. It’s like a solo race, together, where the others are the cheering audience. Win-win for everyone, especially the Casino. Do you have any social gambling experiences yourself?

Bingo, especially online, is probably the best example of integrating gambling in a very social environment. Online, the moderators drive the chat with various games and quiz questions to keep the players happy and entertained during and between the draws. It even has the magic power to convince Bingo players they aren’t casino players. Even though the majority of their money is going into the slot on the side of the bingo card. Truly a beautiful thing.

Casino’s often jump on the “Market to your friends, and we’ll give you something”-bandwagon. Both online and offline casinos have referral programs. Some work better than others.

In our article on our tournaments engine, we touched on the subject of tournaments. Most of the Tournament mechanics available in Unibo are focused around doing something more than someone else. However, we also have both Mission Tournaments and Mission Chases.

In these modes, players try to beat their own record by accomplishing a set of missions as quickly as possible. In Mission Tournaments, you compete against others to do it in the least amount of spins and in Mission Chases, the prize structure is tiered. This means that the faster you finish the missions, the better the prize you get.

Book a meeting with us today to hear more about Unibo Gamification Suite and what our product can help you with.