Online gambling: Art or Tastelessness?

Games of chance have been around as long as humanity itself. Ever since they have existed, a lot of art has been invested in them. Through their presentation, they subconsciously exert a magical attraction. But that is by no means all that makes games of chance so appealing. There is always the chance of winning and successfully completing the game for oneself.

In modern times, online gambling has become increasingly popular. There is nothing left online anyway that does not exist, whereby art and tastelessness often seem to intersect. But how exactly can we look at this? As you will see below, it all depends on perspective.

The visual arts

Let's start by looking more closely at the visual aspects of online gambling. There are graphic designers for games in general, just as there are graphic designers for advertising posters and packaging of everyday objects. Their job is primarily to draw a person's attention to an object. To do this, designers must be familiar with colours and their psychological effects. Some colours catch the eye more than others, so people are more inclined to at least take a closer look at something. These primarily include:

• red
• yellow
• orange
• neon

If you look at online gambling, of course these colours are mainly used, at least to highlight the title of a game. This is actually no secret, as the same tricks are used for other products in everyday life. Online gambling goes one step further with its visual art.

Animations

Players undoubtedly want to be entertained and have become more sophisticated over the years in parallel with technological developments. If you look at a very simple slot, would you find it interesting if there was nothing moving on the playing field?

The slots of the first hour have of course already integrated reels that move, so they are very similar to their counterpart - the one-armed bandit - in a land-based casino. Unless something else is happening on the board, it is not necessarily attractive. Game designers have increasingly moved towards adding graphic animation to games.

Design styles can vary greatly in this aspect. While some look very clean and appealing, others are cluttered and just seem cheesy. The cheesy touch is again quite common in casinos in general. Each game is supposed to look more appealing than another and the bottom line is that players have a hard time choosing one. Instead, they prefer to play all the games. Of course, this benefits the casino, whether online or land-based.

The art of gambling

Playing itself could also be considered an art. This may not apply to slots to the same extent, but rather to strategic games. These include poker and blackjack in particular.

The player must rely on two pillars for a successful game:

• Psychology/knowledge of human nature
• Creativity

Psychology in gambling

Poker games are known for psychological games. The best known in poker is the bluff, by which one leads others to believe that one has a good hand in hand. Thanks to this deception, other players may feel compelled to quit rather than continue playing to the end.

Professional players have not only practised their card game for years to master all its rules. They have also practised people skills, taking the smallest signs of other players as clues and planning their next move based on them. Less skilled players will hardly be aware of the signs they reveal in the game and even professional players cannot always hide the smallest signs. We are talking here about:

• Nervousness
• A very long time to think before making a move
• A hasty move

Even certain eye movements can be a clue to another player's hand. If a glance moves to the right, this can indicate a good hand on the opponent's side. Players themselves ideally need to keep a very cool head and not let on how good or bad the hand in their hand may be.

Creativity in the game

Every game may have its rules that must be followed. However, for every game you can also think of a strategy. The internet may be full of suggestions for game strategies, but in the end the reality is always different. You have to think of your own way to improve your chances, which may require some creativity. In gambling, as in life itself, there is not always one solution that reliably leads to success.

So to what extent is online gambling art or bad taste?

We have drawn on a few interesting aspects that certainly speak for the art of online gambling. Whether visually or simply mastering the art of gambling. Both aspects can also have their discreet negative effects. Other players feel short-changed when their signals can be classified, which gives skilled players an advantage. It clearly depends from which point of view you look at online gambling.