Casinos have often differentiated themselves by the quality of their product and experience. There are the bargain basement casinos that smell like tobacco smoke and spilled alcohol, and there are the five-star member-only casinos that are for the social elite. Where do online casinos sit in this social dichotomy? And can an online casino offer a luxury casino experience?
What is a Luxury Casino Anyway?
What defines a luxury casino? There are plenty of casinos out there in the world, but not all of them provide a high-class experience. The qualities and hallmarks of a luxury casino are usually gaudy décor, expensive furnishings, a wealth of table games, a bar decked out with expensive liquor, staff in formal uniforms, etc. These typically signify quality and heighten the customer experience.
Other aspects include a high-roller section, where only the wealthiest casino goers can afford to play. Table games that start with exceptionally high buy-ins and minimum stakes would give a modest gambler a heart attack. These areas are usually cordoned off to the public and have their own private bar. Some luxury casinos are cordoned off entirely and operate a members-only policy. Many of these require a recommendation to join and must always be dressed formally. As such, all these attributes underpin a sense of exclusivity to create a luxury casino experience.
How Does an Online Casino Replicate the Luxury Qualities?
To answer this question quickly, with great difficulty! All attributes mentioned in the above stanza mainly relate to in-person criteria. I.e., setting a dress code, having staff, etc. These tangibles are not present in the online casino. Staff are limited to video interaction, and no online casino has dictated what somebody wears when they log on.
The exclusivity element goes out the window, too. While casinos reserve the right to not let people into their venue, it would be counterintuitive not to allow users to download their app or visit their site. The internet has leveled the playing field here, meaning anyone can click here for some good online casino options.
In theory, a brand that wants to create an exclusive online casino could retain some luxury elements by making it an invite-only service or having the minimum stake for all games higher than the average rate. However, this might not attract enough customers to be sustainable.
Lacking of Hospitality Element
One of the significant factors that luxury casinos provide to their patrons is hospitality. They will look after their guests with table service for drinks, take their coats to the cloakroom, and even more bespoke services for their regular customers who pour a lot of money into the business. It’s those little touches that make the experience so luxurious and why customers keep going back time after time, even if they lose excessive amounts of money.
Try as they might, online casinos cannot replicate this. For one, they cannot serve a drink to a customer via an online connection. There’s no way to greet them as they enter the casino, find a table, and ask them how their day has been. Ultimately, online casinos lack the human touch that is the foundation for the luxury casino service. Some sites have dabbled in having a video host, but these have been mainly unsuccessful.
Online Casino Aesthetics Are Just Aesthetics
The aesthetics of an online casino are just that — the aesthetics. Just because you play on a luxury-themed online casino doesn’t mean you’re having a luxury experience. Thousands of similar gimmick themes are used to market online casinos, many of which have no bearing on the theme. For example, the luck of the Irish online casino has no more correlation to Dublin than another site with the same games.
The fact that an online casino is marketing itself as a luxury online casino doesn’t mean it will be much different than any other online casino. The golden website design and pictures of champagne bottles don’t suddenly transport you to the most exclusive VIP room on the Las Vegas strip. It’s just marketing trying to sell you the idea of wealthy casino gambling. By presenting the high-life casino, they want customers to associate themselves with the upper echelons of gambling socialites who have money to waste.
It’s a clever strategy. By comparison, no site would ever try to market itself as a dingy basement casino, as these are typically where unsociable, poverty-stricken, and seedy types hang out. Typically, this is not a good brand message.