Were the coronavirus pandemic to happen forty years ago, people in lockdown would feel totally cut off from the world. Now, when all buildings are equipped with the internet and when we carry mobile electronic devices in our pockets, very few of us are experiencing the sense of isolation in quarantine. While people are being shut inside their houses, they are managing to work online, talk to their colleagues through Zoom, buy goods or services from sellers over the internet, work out on demand helped by fitness streaming platforms, and even teach their children how to read by using iPad apps.
Equally important is that people can place bets at virtual casinos and play slot games in lockdown. The prolonged inactivity of brick-and-mortar casinos has not deprived people of the pleasure of gambling, since almost all betting houses have online businesses. Veikkaus, Finland’s government-owned betting agency, did close every casino, spelled “kasino” in Finnish, when the pandemic hit Europe in March. But Finns hardly felt any inconvenience, because they immediately moved onto Veikkaus’s gambling website and started wagering either on their computers or mobile devices.
Indeed, the improvement of mobile technology and the development of higher quality mobile betting apps have made all the difference during the quarantine. Mobile phones themselves have become better suited to wagering. Like any PC, cell phones have full operating system, heavy-duty processor power, and high-resolution color screens, the technological innovations that turn mobile phones into a convenient gambling device. Software within mobile phones is also conducive to gambling. Phones accept the Java programming language, along with the language for applets. An applet is used to deal a card in blackjack, deposit the graphics on people’s phones, and send a request to the casino’s server for a card.
Gamblers say that mobile devices are particularly convenient for betting on sports, including team matches or horse races. There is now a rich arsenal of sports betting apps such as BetOnline, MyBookie, SportsBetting, and BetNow that can easily inform players about pre-game statistics, give them betting tips, and calculate odds for them. With the help of such sports betting apps, people can collect information about horses, trainers, jockeys, and their favorite teams, which would enable them to make smarter betting decisions. Sports betting apps also keep players in the know about the latest news in the casino industry and send them notifications about upcoming offers.
Mobile devices also allow people to play at Live Casino lobbies and explore various live-dealer games. Gamblers can play Live Roulette or Live Blackjack with real professional dealers. Mobile apps have great resolution, not inferior to resolution had by PCs, so people wagering through their phones will enjoy the same experience gamblers get, say, in Casino Helsinki in Finland. When they win, mobile players are provided with the convenient banking options. The most time-saving feature they are offered is managing their casino funds directly through the app. Gamblers can choose their preferred payment method, make deposits or withdrawals directly via mobile phones, from any location in the world.
Brick-and-mortar casinos in many countries have been emerging from under the national lockdown, reopening their doors to customers. Yet even if people face a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic and are forced to retreat into their houses again, they will still enjoy their lives to the full thanks to the internet, computers, and sophisticated mobile phones.
