If you’ve ever been to a casino, you’ll understand just how popular the dice game of Craps is and how challenging it could be to adapt to the digital era. The beauty of the game lies in its speed and the personality of the dice crew managing the action. This is nearly impossible to replicate, even in a live dealer casino environment.
The truth is that learning how to play craps is simple. You can see evidence of just how simple by consulting the experts over at askgamblers.com. However, the challenge for casino companies has always been in transposing this live-action game to an online audience.
Live gaming software
Blackjack and roulette expanded incredibly well into the digital world by building a presence via cutting-edge live casino gaming software. Ultimately, this is the route that Craps has gone down. Partnering with some of the titans of live gaming software has laid the foundation for licensed operators to provide online Craps.
Initially, Craps dice was a little bit slow to get off the mark. While these tables might be popular on the gaming floors of Las Vegas, you would be hard pressed to find more than one or two craps games on digital casino platforms.
This is in stark contrast to roulette and blackjack, which may have over a dozen live tables running simultaneously. Craps is adapting to the digital era slowly but surely; however, in an effort to establish themselves they are in the process of playing catch-up.
Popularity of craps
Casinos don’t need a second invitation to host a game, nothing is off the table if it brings in new players. However, craps is definitely a game whose market is predominately in the US. Very few land-based casinos in the UK (outside of the capital) don’t have a craps table.
A game must have a market for it to reach its full potential. Casinos aren’t going to spend thousands of dollars ensuring they have all the necessary software in place to host craps games.
Before they can launch, it takes time, dedication, and a ton of on-site security and software testing. While many casinos will not mind doing this, some will think twice if the game isn’t too popular.
Unfortunately, this is where Craps finds itself in comparison to the likes of Blackjack and Poker. Casinos have used several SEO and digital marketing strategies to bring in dice players, but they’ve had to go back to the drawing board to help the game adapt to the modern era.
Transposing gaming mechanics into the digital realm
If you’ve ever played at a live craps table online, you’ll know that the dice are thrown by a mechanical arm. Then there is a live dealer who stands there and calls out the numbers on each dice. Here we see mechanical and human forces working together, hand in hand as it were.
Introducing a mechanical arm to throw the dice, rather than a player or a live dealer, addresses some of the issues that gamers have raised about online Craps. Human contact makes it difficult to know whether the throw of the dice is arbitrary.
Those in the industry know there’s a mountain of regulations that casinos have to get through before they can offer any type of live table game. Only time will tell if it’s possible to develop the same level of popularity we see in US casinos.
The technology that live gaming software providers use means that Craps is easy to play on smartphones and tablets. This is crucial, as it opens the market to a vast potential new audience.
Final thoughts
While craps is a niche game online, that doesn’t mean that tables are hard to find. There are plenty of tables. There are also many walkthrough guides that people can access to get to grips with how the game works. Craps has followed the blueprint of other casino games in its quest to become a more significant part of the online casino community, but ultimately, it boils down to popularity.
Sadly, Craps may never be as popular as its most famous player. Sean Connery, as 007, took a break from the Baccarat table to try his hand at Craps in Diamonds Are Forever. The film also features an iconic car chase through the streets of Las Vegas, although not in the car that recently sold for a whopping $2.4 million at auction. When it comes to Bond at the casino, Baccarat and Poker are still his games of choice.
