Online gamblers are a lucky bunch. With a few clicks of a mouse, anyone can turn on their computer or mobile, log in to their favourite online casino, and start playing slots or betting on sports results. It all seems so simple.
The truth is more complicated than that. Every online casino deploys a powerful combination of different technologies under the hood. Online gambling manufacturers and operators aren’t creators of tech.
But they are wonderful innovators when it comes to taking the best technologies from other industries and integrating them into their own operations.
Below are some of the top technologies powering the online gambling industry.
Random Number Generators
The random number generator (RNG) is probably the most important technology in the online gambling industry. and indeed in the gambling industry as a whole.
An RNG is a device that generates a sequence of numbers that cannot be easily predicted. When you play an online slot, it is random number generators that determine which symbols pop up on the reels.
RNGs have been around in one form of another since the invention of the dice at least 3400 years ago in the Middle East. By the 1940s, American and British developers had separately invented random number generating machines as part of the war effort.
This was around the time that gambling really took off, and RNGs would go on to become a crucial part of fruit machines and later online casino games.
Programming Languages
Various coding languages go into making an online casino game, but the most prominent of all these languages is C++.
Virtually every online casino game is built on C++ these days, from popular slots to games like online roulette and online bingo. C++ is used in operating systems, and Graphical User Interfaces mainly because of its clear structure and the fact it is easy to re-use. This is also the reason it’s used by online gambling manufacturers.
In addition to C++, online gaming developers must be proficient in a host of other languages and programs. They even incorporate programs that many regular people know how to use: such as Photoshop. Who knows: maybe even us common folk might be able to land a gig at making online gambling games?
Speaking of programming languages, HTML5 is largely responsible for the rise of mobile gambling sites and mobile gaming apps. HTML5 is a mark-up language used in online games and online video streams in web browsers. If you launch an online casino app on Chrome, Firefox, or Safari, chances are it’s built on HTML5.
Online Payments
The title for the most overlooked technology in online gambling must surely go to payment technologies. It’s all well and good developing great games, but if you can’t accept money and deliver payouts – promptly and securely –your online casino venture isn’t going to go very far.
Anyone who’s won money at an online casino should be familiar with the plethora of payment options. Most online gambling sites and you can find a comprehensive selection here, enable deposits and withdrawals using credit cards, debit cards, online payments, mobile wallets, and even cryptocurrency.
Online payment companies are understandably tight-lipped about how they develop their systems, but the main thing to know is that they’re getting better at building in processes to identify and correct fraudulent payments.
Casinos and their customers both want to know they’re protected when sending or accepting money. What’s more, online casinos know they must run the highest standard of encryption technology in order to protect their customers’ vital information. Technology, as always, provides solutions to all the online gambling industry’s biggest challenges.
