Real-Time Streaming For iGaming: How To Create Engaging Experiences

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In the fast-paced world of online gaming, where real-time interactions and immersive experiences are key, delivering high-quality live video streams is vital. In a presentation at SBC Summit Barcelona 2023, Oliver Lietz, the co-founder and CEO of nanocosmos, shared insights on how to create engaging iGaming experiences with real-time streaming. You can watch the complete presentation or dive into article below, where we’ll break down the key points from his presentation and explore the potential of real-time streaming in the iGaming industry.

Table of contents

Real-Time Streaming and Engagement

The essence of real-time streaming lies in creating engaging experiences where audiences can interact with content in real time with near-zero latency. This concept is not limited to iGaming but extends to various scenarios where a presenter or entertainer interacts with an online audience. Think of it as a live stage performance on the internet, where immediate audience interaction is crucial.

The Challenges of Real-Time Streaming

One of the primary challenges in real-time streaming is maintaining a high-quality stream with near-zero latency. Achieving near-zero latency goes beyond protocol choice and requires a comprehensive approach. This is especially critical in scenarios like iGaming, where events unfold rapidly, as the key objective is to guarantee a fluid, high-quality experience for both players and viewers.

For this, you’ll need a global, interactive video platform like nanoStream Cloud that ensures sub-second latency and addresses several other critical points to ensure a high-quality experience for real-time streaming:

Global Distribution: Accessibility is one of the most alluring parts of online gaming. But this isn’t possible without a global content delivery network (CDN). You’ll want to find a streaming solution complete with a CDN to ensure smooth, high-quality video regardless of where your users are tuning in from.

100% Availability: Unless your streaming solution guarantees 100% uptime for 24/7 operations, you risk frustrating users with unintentional downtime. The health of your online gambling platform is directly tied to the health of your streaming infrastructure, so this one is non-negotiable.

Stream Security: Online gambling and content security go hand-in-hand. You’ll want to make sure to implement robust stream protection to prevent unauthorized access, hacking, and misuse of your content. Besides ingest webhooks and playback tokens, we have recently launched nanoStream Guardian to help you actively protecting your content.

Full Control Over the Workflow: Low-latency streaming doesn’t happen in a vacuum. To get it right, all the components in your workflow must work together seamlessly. Full control over your streaming service is therefore key to building the interactive video experiences that iGaming requires.

Fast Start-Up and ABR Playback: In scenarios like iGaming, where users frequently switch between games, it’s essential for live streams to load rapidly. Fast start-up times and Adaptive Bitrate (ABR) playback are imperative for keeping your audience engaged and ensuring seamless transitions between different content and quality levels.

Data Analytics: data insights over your streaming workflow helps your understanding your audience, enhancing user engagement, and refining your streaming strategy. It’s a powerful tool for improving the quality of service and user experience. Systems like the new Alerting feature in nanoStream Cloud help companies maintain service quality and ensure streams run smoothly in various countries.

Use Cases for Real-Time Streaming

Real-time streaming has a wide range of applications, making it a versatile technology for various scenarios that require interactivity:

  • Live Casino: Real-time streaming enhances the live casino experience, allowing players to engage with real dealers and other players as if they were at a physical casino.
  • Live Slots: Live slots bring an interactive element to online gaming, with players enjoying real-time gaming experiences and social interactions.
  • In-Play Sports Betting: For sports enthusiasts, in-play betting provides the opportunity to bet on game outcomes as they unfold, making real-time streaming crucial for accurate odds and immediate betting decisions.
  • Microbetting: Microbetting involves making small, rapid bets on micro-events within a game, which necessitates ultra-fast real-time streaming for players to participate effectively.
  • Other Non-Gaming Use Cases: Real-time streaming isn’t limited to gaming; it extends to diverse applications such as:
    • Live Auctions: Conducting live auctions on the internet where participants can bid and win items in real-time.
    • Live Shopping: Offering a live shopping experience where customers can view products, interact with hosts, and make purchases in real-time.
    • Townhall Meetings: Facilitating townhall meetings, corporate webinars, and virtual gatherings, allowing real-time interactions and engagement among participants.

The goal across these diverse use cases is to ensure that the stream plays smoothly everywhere, offering an optimal viewing experience.

The Future of iGaming

The potential for real-time streaming in iGaming is vast, especially when combined with technologies like AI and augmented reality (AR) with near-zero latency. Major platforms like Amazon Prime Video are already using AI to enrich the viewing experience by providing real-time player statistics, enhancing the betting aspect of sports events. AR is also being used to track and visualize the trajectory of objects in real-time, enabling creative applications in the gaming and betting sectors.

About nanocosmos

nanocosmos has been a leading provider of video streaming technology for over two decades. We specialize in the delivery of high-quality real-time live video streams, focusing on the technology while allowing businesses to build innovative applications around their services with near-zero latency. With a strong emphasis on reliability and quality, nanocosmos provides the tools necessary for businesses in the iGaming industry to create engaging and successful real-time streaming experiences.

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