Online casinos became a popular form of entertainment during the coronavirus pandemic. With land-based casinos closed gamers entertained themselves via free mobile apps.

The availability of desktop and mobile browser versions at top online casinos also grew. Players can access various games, including blackjack, craps, roulette, and baccarat.

Live dealers became a top trend in the gaming industry. New online casinos also came into existence with a wide selection of slots, bingo, and other games.

Players at offshore gambling sites may make deposits and withdrawals in crypto.

Here’s a look at how science is shaping online casino recommendations.

Big Data Analytics in the Online Casino Industry

Online casinos use data analytics to enhance user experience. Delivering innovative platforms and reliable customer service helps to ensure players stay loyal.

Traditional land-based casinos use rewards programs that offer points to repeat customers. In the online casino industry, gambling companies use special promotions to attract new clients.

Big data helps to track the progress of promos and special offers. High participation rates show companies that certain offers work better than others.

It’s also essential for companies to cater to player preferences by monitoring their gambling habits.

Creating Player Profiles

One example of big data used in the gambling industry is the rise of legal sports betting in the U.S. Gambling companies, and software developers merged with sports leagues to track statistics.

Live broadcasts showcase various stats in real-time to enhance engagement. Gamblers who participate in fantasy sports might pay closer attention to games to get the latest updates on their favorite players.

When fans pull up their fantasy team each week, they get individualized player profiles for yards, receptions, scores, and more. Gambling companies use that same concept to study their players.

Players who prefer online slots might get special slot promotions delivered to the email registered with their account. Users who spend the most time playing poker on an online casino platform may get updates about the daily or weekly poker tournaments.

An online casino might also reach out to players who’ve gone inactive with a special offer.

To entice players to spend more time gambling is the point of creating player profiles. Online casinos may also study player behavior to adapt their platforms to deliver the best user experience.

Casino Reviews and Algorithms

Some online casinos allow players to leave reviews about specific games. Gambling platforms that permit reviews of casino games may also allow players to organize games by those ratings.

Mobile apps for online casinos also let players leave reviews. Players can then judge for themselves which options might be worthwhile.

When looking for a reputable option, casino reviews online help users find a suitable platform.

Reviews and algorithms contribute to giving players exactly what they’re looking for regarding online casinos.

The best platforms offer sections and categories called “Recommendations” based on previous choices.

Players who spend more time at an online casino may find that algorithms recommend games that might’ve slipped under the radar.

Online casinos paying for new titles on their platforms get the most out of their selection by utilizing algorithms based on players’ interests and preferences.

Random Number Generators (RNGs) in Casino Games

Slot machines at casinos use random number generators (RNGs) to deliver specific outcomes and results. Software developers build RNGs into games by programming them to offer low, medium, and high volatility.

Third-party companies test RNGs over millions of rounds or spins to garner return-to-player (RTP) percentages. Studying RNGs in various games helps players choose suitable titles for their bankroll.

Other casino games also offer theoretical RTPs based on strategies and human error. For example, blackjack provides players an average RTP of 99% or above. That means, for every $100 wagered—players might win back $99.

Slots usually offer RTP somewhere between 94% – 96%. Volatility represents how often games pay.

A slot with high volatility pays out in more significant increments spread further apart, whereas a low volatility slot pays out more often in small amounts.

Online casinos might offer information on every game to show players the volatility and RTP.

Smart players will choose games with higher volatility for better chances at a big win—or maybe even a jackpot!

Using Data to Personalize Online Gambling Experiences

Players who continually choose highly volatile games will get recommendations based on their habits. That’s an excellent way to find new games suited to player preferences.

Gambling companies might also use data to target ads to specific players. If they don’t get recommendations on screen, they may see ads catering to their gameplay. Those ads could come from emails, promos, offers, bonuses, etc.

Personalizing user experiences via data is a significant way science shapes online casino recommendations.

Online casinos use player data to help develop marketing campaigns, as well. Software companies study the data of player habits when creating new titles.

Gambling companies might use data analytics to monitor their competition. Predictive analytics from previous expectations and preferences also helps to attract new customers.

Honing in on the demographics of players by monitoring their preferences, habits, likes, and dislikes offers opportunities for online casinos to innovate.

The Future of Online Casinos

Top technological advancements in the online casino industry include virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, chatbots, live dealers, and crypto.

Research and marketing companies routinely forecast robust growth for the worldwide online gambling industry. The science behind online casino recommendations may only be in its infancy.

Soon, players at online casinos might get recommendations delivered to a VR headset. They could likewise receive a notification that a friend has just entered a craps game or a blackjack table.

Would you like to join?

The silver screen has a rich history of turning classic books into classic films. The stories behind some of the biggest blockbusters and most worthy Academy Award winners have been taken from the pages of literature which is sometimes centuries old.

The progression of literary adaptations is fascinating, and it features repeating patterns, reflections of the zeitgeist, culture-related trends and, of course, profitable sequels. 

The Dawn of the Golden Age: 1900s to 1940s

Some of the earliest book-to-film adaptations included a swathe of dark films based on the works of such acclaimed authors such as Charles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Bram Stoker. 

In 1908 the film Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was released, and it’s now considered by many to be the very first American horror film. Its success ushered in a number of other dark stories, and these included Nosferatu (1922), which is based on Stoker’s Dracula and acclaimed as one of the most important films of the silent era. 

In 1931, Frankenstein took the world by storm, generating huge profits and terrifying equally huge numbers of cinema-goers. Frankenstein, based on Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, made use of groundbreaking special effects and filmmaking techniques, and was one of the first of its kind to spawn a sequel, 1935’s Bride of Frankenstein.

Outside of the murky world of horror, adaptations of literary works were also popular. These lent themselves especially well to historical films and ‘costume dramas’. These period films were first popularised by the 1910 iteration of Jane Eyre, the Charlotte Brontë novel. 

After adapting a Noël Coward play into Brief Encounter (1945) and winning the Palme d’Or, David Lean’s masterpiece adaptations of Dickens’ Great Expectations (1946) and Oliver Twist (1948) cemented him as being one of the finest film directors in the world. 

These two films also continued an enduring trend of adapting the works of Dickens into critically and financially successful pieces, which were undeniably pieces of art in themselves.

By the end of the 1940s, the market for films adapted from books had proven itself to be immense. The question was, ‘what would be next?’

The End of the Golden Age: 1950s to 1969

In the ‘50s, as Hollywood began to dominate the global film industry, adaptations of novels continued to do great business. These included Alfred Hitchcock’s 1951 version of Strangers on a Train, the Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn vehicle The African Queen (1951), the Maralyn Monroe smash hit Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), and Lean’s epic war story The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957).

Many of these films exemplify filmmaking in the 1950s, and people’s love of grand historical epics, tense psychological suspense stories and romantic historical tales continues to this day, with classical novels providing a seemingly endless well of inspiration for filmmakers to draw on.

The 1960s also produced some great classic adaptations, such as To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), and Stanley Kubrick’s revolutionary 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). 

In the later 1960s, some filmmakers attempted to capture the status quo, with the world experiencing a cultural shift, striving to push societal boundaries and shatter taboos. Examples of these provocative and controversial works include The Graduate (1967) and Rosemary’s Baby (1968).

A New Generation: 1970s 

With the end of what later became known as the Golden Age of Hollywood, the ‘70s arrived, and for fans of literary adaptations, it was no less exciting. 

Kubrick’s version of A Clockwork Orange (1971) painted the image of a disturbing dystopia and caused widespread controversy. The Godfather (1972) took home huge numbers of awards and was a gigantic financial success, enabling Coppola to later adapt Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness into his take on a Vietnam war epic, Apocalypse Now (1979). 

William Freidkin’s adaptation of The Exorcist (1973) proved that horror could be classy, receiving several Oscar nominations and creating societal uproar for its depictions of violence and religious symbolism. In 1975, Steven Spielberg came into the public eye with Jaws, which continues to be monumentally influential to this day, and which virtually created blockbusters as we know them. 

Modern Adaptations

Drawing from books both old and new continues to be a popular method for finding material, particularly in Hollywood. It seemed that, with the turn of the century, a new genre ruled: fantasy.

In the early 2000s, the Harry Potter films (2001-2010) filled multiplexes all over the world, bringing huge numbers of cinema fans as well as hordes of fans of the J. K. Rowling book series.

Similarly, alongside the success of the Potter films, Peter Jackson’s trilogy based on Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) was released, garnering huge success at both the box office and the Oscars.

Other novels which have received the adaptation treatment in recent times include David Fincher’s tense psychological thriller Gone Girl (2014) and Baz Luhrman’s extravagant take on The Great Gatsby (2013).

Greta Gerwig’s all-star seventh adaptation of Little Women (2019) showed that there’s plenty of life in the older books yet, and in 2021 Dennis Villneuve managed to score a monster-sized win with his version of Frank Herbert’s Dune, a book which had been adapted, albeit unsuccessfully, by David Lynch in the 1980s.

Miniseries

With the recent rise of TV and streaming platforms, many books have been successfully adapted into miniseries, some of which had been films in the past but were now receiving a new lease of life on the smaller screen.

Many stories benefit from the slower pacing in this format, allowing the writers and directors to more deeply explore the psyches of the characters, and to incorporate more of the original subplots.

Both Austen and Dickens have been revived for the small screen, and some newer novels such as The Handmaid’s Tale and Game of Thrones have spawned cultural phenomena. 

Room for Interpretation

The process of making a film is a collaborative one, requiring input from directors, screenwriters, actors and producers. For this reason, it’s easy to see how some films can accidentally stray from their source material, and why some filmmakers elect to deliberately make substantial changes.

Further complicating things, no book can be directly translated into film; the latter is a visual medium, and the text must be reinterpreted in such a way that the story can be told through images, with or without retaining the original meaning of the work. Constraints such as time limitations can cause difficulties, as can the number of locations and characters.

This discrepancy between novel and film is often the source of much debate and controversy, and the question is often asked, particularly by fans of the originals, ‘how many liberties is it acceptable to take?’

It could be argued that, if enough changes are made then it is no longer an adaptation, but on the other hand it’s essential that some changes be made for most novels to work well on screen. 

Striking this balance is a monumentally tricky task for filmmakers, and it seems reasonable that the acceptable amount of liberties taken should depend on many factors, including the filmmaker, the novel, the new medium, and the nature of the story itself.

Evoking an Era: Period Cinema Techniques

Creating a plausible representation of a historical period is no easy feat, and it involves the utilisation of a wide range of skills, methods, and cinematic techniques.

To reflect emotions and create a believable setting, lighting can be used, as in Barry Lyndon (1975), for which Kubrick used specially made lenses and thousands upon thousands of candles to create an image reminiscent of a romantic-era painting.

Other such elements of the filmmaking process which can be used to create a believable (or unbelievable) historical setting include sound effects, camera movements, scene transitions, music, colours, and symbolism. When combined and thoughtfully applied, these factors can create a unique and powerful effect.

These techniques are also present in TV, video games, and online slot games, many of which feature themes based on successful films, and even borrow from their style, such as the Game of Thrones, Friends, The X Files, Family Guy, Jurassic Park, Terminator 2, Grease, Rocky, Ted and Gladiator slots which can be found online. 

Fans of the related films and those who are interested in trying these games out should consider using bonus money to mitigate against financial risk. Look for low wagering casino bonuses, as these will allow you to sample plenty of slot games and to keep all of your winnings, rather than having to meet wagering requirements first.

What the Future Holds

It seems that classical literature will always be the subject of adaptations, even if the resulting films seem to move further and further away from the original novels in some cases. 

Whatever occurs in the entertainment industry, we can be certain that the future will bring more adaptations of our favourite books, as well as of new ones, in an attempt to update older stories for younger audiences.

For instance, the latest version of Nosferatu, to be directed by Robert Eggers, is due for release in 2024… and we can’t wait.