John Ford | August 24, 2020 | Updated on: August 25th, 2020
Social gambling refers to playing casino-like games with your friends and family in a non-public place like at home as opposed to a public venue like a casino. This is ultimately what differentiates social gambling from traditional gambling.
Social gambling is facilitated unofficially on private property, while traditional gambling takes place in an actual casino venue. This is not the only definition there is for social gambling, many others exist.
Some believe that social gambling refers to the act of playing casino games on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. The social aspect of this type of gambling is also worth noting. Social gambling would not be called that if it didn’t involve playing with other people, sharing your games with your followers or connections, and posting big wins or new breakthroughs on your social media platforms.
Traditional gaming on the other hand is less reliant on this form of marketing and more reliant on proper advertising and affiliate relationships.
The other consensus is that social gambling is just an alternative way to redirect potential players to real gambling platforms like online casinos. Signing up on a social media platform like Facebook is free of charge.
So, gaming operators further entice the free traffic gained with incentives like free spins and bonuses. Once you are on the social platform playing the games, you’ll often see pop-up advertisements of actual money gambling. This is just another way of redirecting traffic to real gambling platforms.
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Social Gambling vs Traditional Gambling
Now that you have a clearer understanding of what social gambling is, we can look deeper into the major differences that exist between social games and traditional games.
- Social gambling requires more than one player; traditional gambling doesn’t.
- Social gamblers don’t need real money to place bets. You can wager using virtual money.
- Because no real bets are made, no real money gets paid out. Instead, you receive virtual rewards that you can use while playing your games.
- Social gaming also doesn’t prevent you from advancing in your games. You are still able to unlock new levels and achieve things even if you’re not playing for real. This is one way on which social gaming operators retain their players – that sense of achievement and growth is not left out.
- Instead of winning real money, you get offered other goods, features, and incentives to use.
How it Works
For the purpose of this article, we’ll assume that social gaming means playing games on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. If this is the case, how does social gaming work?
Well, you must have an account with whichever platform you’re hoping to play on. If this is Facebook, for example, then you’ll begin by downloading the app on your iPhone, Android, or desktop device and registering an account. The sign-up process is generally very quick because only your basic information is required.
Once you have a Facebook account and you are on the app, you’ll navigate your way to the games section and select one that appeals to you. Most games provide a daily limit of chips, credits, or lives to play or place bets.
When you’ve depleted this daily limit, you must wait until the next day. Alternatively, you can purchase more lives, credits or chips to continue playing. Now although these games are free, buying additional chips or lives is done with real money.
That’s the twist to social games on social media platforms. To purchase these additional credits, you must fill out your banking details and complete the purchase electronically.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Gambling
There are advantages and disadvantages that come with any free product. Below we note some of the pros and cons that come with social gambling:
Pros
- For starters, social gambling is fun, there is no denying this. Everyone loves a good game to play, especially one that comes free of charge.
- Social gambling gives you real-time gaming experiences with friends or people you know and trust.
- These kinds of games also serve as training, preparing you for when you play traditional games.
- Your experiences are customized as many platforms allow you to change game themes to your liking and possibly even create your own personal avatar.
Cons
- Just because the basic game is free, doesn’t mean that you are not prone to developing problem gambling behavior. Some still fall into this trap, which can be very difficult to get out of.
- These games are also very time-consuming. This is time you could have spent doing something more productive. It’s also very easy to transition from free games, to real money games and that’s a road you do not want to travel if you are new to the scene or not yet ready.
- Social gambling has some good gaming options. But, truth be told, they do not really compete with casino games offered in traditional venues. Some games are casino favorites for a reason.