Digital avatars are able to connect through virtual reality headsets, where people can meet and visit virtual casinos with their friends.

Being able to interact with the world from your own home gives people to ability to interact and stay in contact with friends and family when time, distance and money may have left them unable to meet or speak.

Entertainment will change dramatically, with people not relying on their local area for places to visit and things to do. For any activity and pastime, there will be an option to go alone or with friends and family, removing all limits of physical facilities.

In Canada, gamblers are able to place bets in person and online. There are a number of legal Canadian online betting sites which are available across the country for casino and sports betting.

MapleBet and Betzest are two of the main Canadian bookmakers, fully licensed and legal for Canadian citizens. They offer a wide range of sports and markets in Canada as well as around the world.

While MapleBet is licenced by the UK Gambling Commission, Betzest is Canadian Focused and is trying to attract Canadian online sports gamblers.

As well as the Maplebet and Betzest, there are hundreds of other sites that Canadian citizens can use to gamble. Canadian citizens can gamble legally though and licensed bookmaker, licensed under any authority,

Often, UK based sites are preferred by Canadians using international gambling sites as many will allow them to use Canadian Dollars. These sites include bet365, BetVictor, William Hill and 888 Sport amongst others.

US sites are also available to use, and sites such as DraftKings and FanDuel are two of the most popular sites for sports betting.

As well as online, Canadian can place wagers at retail sites and as of 2019 it was legal to make single wagers within Canada at retail sites. There had previously been a rule on parlay bets only but going forward single wagers are legal subject to local province regulations.

The Draw

For punters interested in casino-based games, the ability to play without having to visit a physical casino has been a big draw. The ability to play anytime, anywhere, without worrying about dress codes and travel is a big positive for the industry and its clients.

The metaverse will be an interesting further development to the online casinos being used around the world. Currently there is the ability to watch on screen as well as having microphone or chat rooms to interact, but a metaverse will take this experience even further and closer to the real thing.

Changing the Internet from 2D to 3D will change how we use the internet, form marketplaces to games and to gambling. Using the proposed virtual reality headsets, players will be able to access the metaverse and interact as if they were physically there, creating avatars, purchasing items and gambling at virtual reality casinos.

Casino companies and online betting sites will purchase “land” in the metaverse for users to visit and use. It has been constantly linked with cryptocurrencies which are at present being accepted by some online betting providers and casinos.

Being able to use an avatar to go out into the metaverse and meet friends and visits virtual casinos will provide a much more realistic and connective experience for people who may in other cases have to go alone. Being able to chat in chatrooms or over microphones like speaking over the phone is good, but this would make you feel like you are there together.

When can we expect this?

The technology inherent in the metaverse is still a long way off according to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. We will expect to see some developments of the metaverse to really kick in in 5-15 years’ time. There will be constant research with the aim for it to be available to access somewhere between 2026 and 2036.

Zuckerberg has rebranded Facebook and its affiliate programs under the new name of Meta and wants to access the metaverse under its own VR/AR products. This could mean the early stages of the metaverse are costly and inaccessible to many until further developments are made.

With this though, the future of casino-based gambling is going to become very different with the full immersion of the metaverse. It will give gamblers the ability to place wagers and visit casinos with a fully immersive style without having to leave the house and the full social experience of casinos can be enjoyed from anywhere.