Online Casinos

There was a time when in order to play your favorite casino games, you had to actually walk inside a brick and mortar casino. This made casino gaming inconvenient for many people who didn’t live near any casinos. With the advent of the internet, however, online casinos have sprung up across the world and it has never been easier for casino gamblers to play their favorite games.

Online casinos attempt to recreate the experience of visiting a casino on land. In theory, when visiting an online casino you get the same experience as hitting the tables in Vegas without having to leave your home. Online casinos offer the same popular casino games – blackjack, slots, roulette, poker and more – and through the use of graphic animations and avatars, can recreate the look of the inside of a casino and the experience of competing against other players.

The outcome of games played in online casinos is determined by a random number generator (RNG). The RNG randomly produces a series of numbers that correlates to a specific event, such as which cards you are dealt, which number the dice land on, or which symbols appear on the slot machine reels. The numbers are generated in such a way that the algorithm can’t be cracked and cheating is virtually impossible. Likewise, card counting in blackjack does not work online.

Like with brick and mortar casinos, games at online casinos have a house edge, meaning that the odds are stacked so that, in the long run, the casino makes money off of each game. Using the random number generator, online casinos have payout percentages that are comparable to their land-based counterparts. Some even pay out more than brick and mortar casinos, since online casinos have a much lower overhead.

Games on online casinos can be played one of two ways. One way is by downloading the software onto your computer and playing the game by accessing the downloaded software. The other way is by playing software that is streamed over the casino’s website, which does not require a download. Both methods are available on desktop computers, laptops and smartphones.

While some online casinos design their own software, many buy licensed software from well-known and trusted software development companies. This allows the casino to focus on other things and helps the consumers feel comfortable that the casino is safe. Though there is no one regulatory body for online casinos, due to the many different jurisdictions in which they reside, there are many government and third-party agencies that regulate and review the software and business practices of online casinos. A casino that has the approval of those agencies is considered to be safe for the online players.

Not all online casino bonuses are created equal. They won’t offer you free drinks like a land-based casino, but most offer a cash bonus after signing up. Just don’t get duped into wagering requirements and other catches. Nearly every casino bonus has conditions attached. Read the fine print before agreeing. The most common are broken down here:

Match Bonus: the most common type of bonus with your first deposit. A certain percentage of your deposit is matched by the online casino. The match can be any percentage, but most are 25%, 50% or 100%. Usually, a 100% match on your first deposit is only worth up to a certain amount. The amount changes with each promotion. Sometimes, you can get an equal or lesser match percentage on your next few deposits as well.

Cash Back Bonus:  given following a loss. More online casinos are offering this. A portion of the stake is returned, usually as cash. It depends on the promotion but an online casino might offer a 20% cash back bonus each week. If you had a loss over the span of the week, you would get 20% of your losses back. The percentage and number of times it is paid back can vary. Overall winners are not eligible for the bonus.

Cashable Bonus: also known as a no deposit bonus, you must meet certain bonus wager requirements or play on only on certain games before you are allowed to cash out the free bonus money, which is added on to your winnings.

Comp Points: can be exchanged for cash, prizes, etc. The amount of points varies with each game and is usually minimal per wager. For example, you could get two comp points for every $10 blackjack bet and one comp point for every $10 roulette bet. A dollar value is assigned to comp points, like $1 for every 100 points.

Loyalty Rewards: most return around $10 for each $10,000 played. It sounds like a rip-off but the reward is earned on every win or loss wagered, so it doesn’t take that long to accumulate if you are an avid gambler. Some online casinos have different loyalty levels with benefits and also offer a birthday bonus.

Sticky Bonus: the bonus itself is not allowed to be withdrawn, but any winnings earned while playing the sticky bonus is. This one is not that common anymore.

Playing your favorite casino games is not only just about convenience. There are some fun benefits to partaking of online casinos.

Bonuses
Not only do online casinos offer Welcome Bonuses, but they also offer weekly and monthly bonuses as well. Many of the reputable online casinos will also offer VIP player programs. These player reward programs are loyalty programs that reward players for continuing to play at their online casino. So players are not only winning by playing their favorite games, they are also being rewarded for simply playing their game of choice. These programs are also free to enroll in as well.

Now compare that to the loyalty perks you get at a brick and mortar casino. Often you will receive comps for a free trip to the buffet or the like. Which would you rather have: a free ticket for the buffet or an extra bonus?

New Games
Online casinos see new game faster than brick and mortar casinos. This is because once a new online game is completed it is released to the online casino. Essentially the new game is uploaded into the online casinos arsenal of games, and players have access to it.

New games are often released every couple of months. Most notable, Microgaming releases something every other month, while Vegas Technology releases new games every three months or so. Playtech and other software developers tend to be around every three or four months.

This means that as a player, you see new games more often and are able to play them as soon as they are released to the online casinos.

New slot machines for casinos come out, at the fastest, twice a year. More often they are released once a year with an introduction at a convention. The greater amount of time between releases is because it takes time to actually build multiple slot machines for the same game which then have to be shipped and then installed in the casino. With online casinos one copy of the game’s software has to be sent to the online casino and then uploaded into their casino, and they are all set to go.

For those who play their favorite casino games at an online casino, it means that they get to see new games more often and they are rewarded with money bonuses and cashbacks instead of buffet comps.

We are in an age of technology where it’s easy for you play your favorite online casinos from home or while you’re on the go. It’s also easy for people to steal your money and personal information if you’re not careful. Most online casinos are safe and secure thanks to third party organizations like eCOGRA (eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance) and TST (Technical Systems Testing), which certify casinos for their player protection. A little background research before signing up with a casino can save you a lot of money and frustration. There are fake online casinos out there looking to cash in on an uninformed player.

The easiest way to check the legitimacy of an online casino is to do an Internet search on it. It only takes a short time to find some valid reviews. Look beyond the name of the casino. Find out more about the company behind it and what they represent. Make sure the casino is licensed and find out what their software provider is. The biggest and most reputable software providers are Microgaming, Playtech and Real Time Gaming. You can usually trust the casino when they use a trusted software provider.

Check to see if the content is copied on the site. Copy a paragraph from the site and paste it into an Internet search engine. Fake casinos sometimes share content. Read the terms and conditions carefully to see if they are clearly stated. Don’t fall for hidden requirements on bonuses. This is the biggest problem with new gamblers. Don’t open more than one player account at each casino as you might be considered a bonus abuser and banned from the site and their affiliates. Before signing up, make sure it is legal to gamble in your jurisdiction and you are of the legal age to gamble. The last thing to check is the procedure on payouts. Casinos that pay out on a monthly basis, rather than weekly or daily, could be illegitimate.

When looking for an online casino there are several important aspects to examine. You have to check their customer service, who they are licensed and regulated by and, naturally, their promotions. But there is one other aspect of online casinos that you will want to examine and compare: their payout percentages.

A payout percentage is the percentage of money that is paid back to those who play at that online casino as compared to how much money the online casino takes in through wagers. In order to calculate the payout percentage, the total amount of money paid in winnings is added together and then divided by the total amount wagered at the online casino; the resulting number is then multiplied by one hundred to get the payout percentage.

As an example we are going to say that one of the best online casino paid out $96,000 but took in $100,000 in total wagers. Its payout percentage calculation would look like this:

96,000/100,000 = 0.96 x 100 = 96%

This means that online casino is only keeping 4% of the money it takes in. The higher the payout percentage, the more that online casino pays back to its players. What does this mean to the players?

With a higher payout percentage players have a better chance of either receiving more higher payouts or more frequent payouts. What this does not mean that an individual player will receive $96 back if they wager $100, per the above example.

Online casinos have a higher payout percentage than regular brick and mortar casinos because they do not have the overhead and expenses that a regular casino has. Online casinos also have smaller staffs to worry about paying. This translates into them being able to pay out more. You can think of it as an online casino passing the savings on to you.

Understanding what a payout percentage is and how it impacts you as a player can help you in choosing an online casino to play at. Remember that the higher the payout percentage, the better your chances of receiving a higher payout or more frequent payouts.

There are a lot of things people look for when searching for an online casino at which to play. People look at the graphics, the overall look of the website, which games are offered, the number of tournaments, bonuses and more. No factor is more important in an online casino than safety, though, and that should be your number one concern. After all, it doesn’t matter how well animated the games are if they’re ripping you off. Similarly, a fun casino experience cannot make up for having your identity stolen due to poor site security.

For that reason, making sure an online casino is safe should be your top concern when looking for a place to play. But how do you know what sites are safe?
The first thing you need to look for is licensing. Many online casinos are licensed and regulated by the governments in which their sites reside. Those governments regulate the casino and ensure that they are safe and fair. If that is not the case, though, there are third-party regulators, such as the eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance (eCOGRA), that inspect online casinos.

eCOGRA inspects websites to make sure they have the proper encryption to make sure all financial transactions are safe. They also look at the game software, make sure it is fair, protected from cheating, and pays out an appropriate percentage of the time. They also can work as an arbitrator if there is a dispute between a customer and an online casino. Simply put, if eCOGRA gives a website their seal of approval, you can feel assured that it is safe and fair and thus, a good place to play.
Another thing to look at is the game software designers. Instead of designing their own games, most online casinos buy licensed software from third-party developers. There are many developers out there that have built a solid reputation for fairness and safety and any casinos that use their software should be a safe place to play. Industry-leading software designers who have good reputations include Rival Gaming, WagerLogic, Microgaming, PlayTech and more. Each of those software designers have been shown through rigorous testing and player feedback to be safe, fair and also fun. Therefore, if an online casino uses software designed by any of those prestigious companies, it should be safe.

The other thing to look for is simply the overall reputation of the online casino. When customers are angry, they will vent and give bad reviews to websites on message boards, review websites, and a variety of other sources. On the other hand, when they’re happy sometimes they’ll write glowing reviews. Before joining an online casino, it is a good idea to do research on customer feedback for the website. If the majority of the feedback is positive, that’s a good sign. If the majority of feedback is negative, that could be a bad sign and I would recommend further investigation before joining.

Back in the day, if you wanted to play blackjack you either had to get some friends together and convince one of them to be the dealer or you had to take a trip to a brick in mortar casino in locations like Las Vegas and Atlantic City. With the advent of the Internet, though, now all you have to do is go on your computer or cell phone. There are many differences between online blackjack and blackjack at a brick and mortar casino, though.

The biggest difference is that there is no dealer or other players at the table. Instead, you are playing against a computer program called a random number generator, which determines which cards are drawn by you and the “dealer.”

This means a few things. First of all, it means you don’t have to worry about being intimidated by the dealer, as many new players often are. It also means you don’t have to worry about feeling rushed by the dealer or other players. You can take as much time as you need to research a decision before doing something. It also means that the game moves faster, because you don’t have to wait for other players. That means you can play more hands of online blackjack in a given time than you could in a casino. Whether or not that’s a good thing depends on your perspective.

Another difference between online blackjack and playing blackjack at a brick and mortar casino is that there are fewer distractions. You don’t have to worry about being distracted by a stage performances, loud slot machines, loud customers, cocktail waitresses with tempting drinks, and more. You can control your environment, since you’re playing in your own home.

Playing online blackjack means you never have to wait for an empty seat at the blackjack table. It also means there is more variety. If the online casino you visit doesn’t have blackjack games with the rules you want, simply check another casino. It’s true that you can do that on the Strip, but it takes much more time to leave the casino and walk to another.

Though there are a lot of positives to playing online blackjack instead of playing at a brick and mortar casino, there is one major drawback. Card counting doesn’t work online. At a brick and mortar casino, many players use skilled techniques like counting cards and shuffle tracking to shift the game’s odds in their favor. However, online there is no real deck, which means shuffle tracking is impossible because there are no cards to see get shuffled. Also, because the random number generator has the effect of shuffling the deck after every hand, you counting cards is useless with online blackjack. Blackjack basic strategy still works just as well in online casinos as in the brick and mortar variety, though.

Aside from those issues, the game of blackjack is pretty much the same when played online compared to in a land-based casino. Though there are countless variations that exist in both versions, blackjack is basically the same as it has existed for hundreds of years.