The worlds of virtual reality are ever expanding and ever growing. One of the fastest growing areas is that of virtual gambling. Every month there are more and more games and experiences that embrace virtual reality. These all stem from the big push in the 90s of real-world casinos trying to break into the online world.

The move towards virtual reality gambling has its roots in the 90s. Back then, a lot of brick and mortar casinos started to expand into the online world. We saw, and still see, plenty of online casinos that offer a great number of casino-like experiences that can be yours all from the comfort of your home. Games of chance, including online roulette games, proved to be popular enough that we saw these online casino experiences grow exponentially in recent years.

Websites for casinos and gambling continued to grow. From there, we saw gambling appearing more and more in videogames, though they were often relegated to simple minigames or side activities. This was true even for games such as Dead Rising 2 or Fallout: New Vegas, which take place within digital gambling hot spots. From there, it was only a matter of time before dedicated gambling focused videogames were created.

These games brought home the idea that you could gamble both real and virtual currencies from the comfort of a computer chair or couch. However, there was still something missing: The idea of being there and being immersed in the glitz and glam. That is where virtual reality focused casino games come into play. VR casino games are on the rise, much like website-based casinos were starting to grow in the 90s. Here in 2020, we are seeing a huge surge of casinos making their virtual debuts.

On the digital storefront Steam we are seeing a growing number of these gambling games and virtual casinos. Just in the past couple of years, games like Social Club VR: Casino Nights and PokerStars VR have been developed and released for owners of VR headsets. Outside of Steam, games such as Slots Million are growing in popularity with VR and non-VR fans alike. These games allow users to get the best of both worlds: Experiencing the glitz of Vegas while also allowing the player to be safe and secure within the comfort of their own home.

Sadly, one of the biggest issues with VR based gambling is that players are often tethered to their computer by a tangle of wires. Most VR devices such as the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and even Valve Software's mighty Index device limit the freedom of movement that players and would-be gamblers have. Thankfully, companies such as Oculus VR have come out with VR headsets that offer full six degrees of freedom without being tethered to a stationary computer.

Virtual reality devices such as the Oculus Quest allow people to experience the joys of gambling anywhere and at any time. As you may know already, Oculus recently announced the Oculus Quest 2. This new piece of hardware is an improvement on the original Quest in every conceivable way. Higher per-eye resolutions and higher refresh rates mean that players will be able to virtually gamble in unprecedented visual fidelity. The Oculus Quest 2 also features improved controllers with longer battery life. The headset itself is also lighter, which means that there is less chance for fatigue on the neck and shoulders after long periods of gambling.

If this upward trend in VR hardware continues, the future of virtual reality gambling is looking very promising. New headsets such as the Oculus Quest 2 are making it easier to dive into the ever-growing world of casino games. This is all thanks to their relative ease of use, ever improving visual fidelity, and how easy it to share these new and exciting experiences with those around you.