Best Online Casinos

How Do Online Casinos Work?

Online casinos enable gamblers to play and wager on casino games through the Internet. Due to significantly lower overhead costs, online casinos can generally offer far better odds and higher payback percentages than their land-based casino competitors.

Online casinos can be enjoyed via three unique software categories – Download, In-Browser, and Mobile. However, due to significant technological advances, it is fairly common for an online casino to be accessible via two, or maybe even all three, different categories.

Download

Download-based online casinos require users to download the software client from the casino’s website in order to play and wager on the casino games offered.

Download-based online casinos generally run faster than web-based online casinos since the graphics and sound programs are cached by the software client, rather than having to be loaded from the internet.

However, as with anything you download from the internet, the risk of the program containing malware exists, which makes it less popular among skeptical casino players.

In-Browser

In-Browser online casinos (also known as flash or no-download casinos) are websites where users may play casino games without downloading software to their local computer.

Games are mainly represented in the browser plugins Macromedia Flash, Macromedia Shockwave, or Java, and require browser support for these plugins.

Besides the plugins and browser, a stable internet connection is required to have a seamless gaming experience as all graphics, sounds and animations are loaded through the web via the plugin.

Mobile

With our reliance on mobile devices growing daily, many online casinos have invested a great deal of time and resources into creating apps and mobile device-friendly casino platforms.

Country Restrictions

Due to licenses, regulations, local laws, and a bevy of other potential factors, many online casinos restrict players residing in certain states or countries from accessing their casino platform. When deciding which online casino to join next, it’s important to make sure that the site you are joining even accepts players from your location.

A reputable online casino will not let you register an account from a banned region, but a select few unethical casinos will let you join, deposit, and gamble before investigating your account and ultimately confiscating your winnings.

Know Your Customer (KYC) Checks

Due to the nature of the business, traditional online casinos are susceptible to identity and credit card fraud. To combat this, many online casinos require players to verify their identity prior to withdrawing any winnings.

When performing a KYC check, casinos typically ask players to provide two of the following: A copy of your driver’s license, a copy of your passport, a recent utility bill, and even a selfie while holding a piece of paper with your name and the current date on it.

Games Offered

Some online casinos offer many games, some only offer slot machines. When deciding what online casino is right for you, players should make sure that the casino they’re interested in offers the games they enjoy prior to making a deposit.

Banking Methods

The banking methods offered can vary by casino. With the rising popularity, ease of use, speed, and low fees associated with Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies are quickly becoming the primary deposit and withdrawal method at most online casinos.

But if you prefer traditional methods like credit cards, bank wires, cashier checks, and e-money transferring services like NeTeller, Skrill, Western Union, and MoneyGram, many online casinos still offer those methods as well.

Are Online Casinos Rigged?

There have been instances of rigged games in online casinos, however, the number of rigged online casinos are far lower than you might expect.

If you stick to an online casino listed on GamblingSiteFinder.com, you won’t have to run the risk of getting taken advantage of by a rogue online gambling site.

What Does “Provably Fair” Mean?

Some online casinos advertise themselves as “provably fair”, meaning that their players have the ability to verify the outcome of each round, thus ensuring that they are being treated fairly.

The “provably fair” interface varies by casino, but ultimately shows the user how the casino was able to arrive at the card, dice roll, roulette spin, etc. that you wagered on.

Why Do Online Casinos Offer Bonuses?

Many online casinos offer “welcome” bonuses to new players making their initial deposit, and often “reload” bonuses on subsequent deposits as well.

In rare cases, online casinos may even offer “no deposit” bonuses; bonuses that simply credit your account with funds, without even requiring you to make a deposit.

These bonuses are a form of marketing that incur a slight cost, since the online casino is quite literally giving away money. However, players cannot simply claim one of these bonuses, then withdraw their inflated balance.

In exchange for your bonus funds, you (the player) must first agree to wager a certain minimum amount before requesting to withdraw your funds. This agreement, often highlighted in the site’s Terms & Conditions page, is typically referred to as a “playthrough requirement”.

What Are Playthrough Requirements?

Since all casino games have a house edge, “playthrough requirements” ensure that the player cannot simply walk away with the casino’s money immediately after claiming a bonus.

Playthrough requirements are typically set to be sufficiently high that the player has a negative expectation, exactly as if they had deposited and not claimed a bonus. It is not uncommon for a playthrough requirment to be in the 40-70x range.

As outlined in the Terms & Conditions, some casinos may choose to restrict certain games from fulfilling the wagering requirements, either to restrict players from playing low house edge games or to restrict playing “risk free” (Ex. betting on both red and black in Roulette).

Furthermore, some casinos take a more complicated approach by allowing players to play all games, but drastically reducing the playthrough requirement contribution for certain games. Here is the playthrough contribution table for a popular online casino:

Analyzing the table above, $100 wagered on Slots at this particular casino would contribute $100 towards your playthrough requirement, while $100 wagered on Blackjack would only credit $5 towards your playthrough requirement.

This large fluctuation in contribution can turn a $1,000 playthrough requirement into a $20,000 depending on which game you fancy.

Here are a few examples of other common playthrough requirements, taken directly from popular online casino:

As of fair gaming importance, there is a limit on maximum bet size allowed to be placed during the playthrough of any promotion bonuses (including cash back offers). $10 is the maximum bet amount permitted unless specifically stated otherwise. Betting above $10 during an active playthrough will result in any winnings voided.

Should a Player deposit $100 and redeem a 100% bonus that requires 30X playthrough, the Player must wager the amount of their deposit ($100) plus the amount of their bonus ($100) 30X before requesting a cash out. This means that the Player must wager $200 X 30 = $6,000 before requesting a withdrawal from their account.

Unless otherwise stated, the maximum withdrawal amount from any No Deposit Bonus is 1x the face value of the bonus, with a minimum of $100. All free chips valued below $50 will come with a cash-out limit of no more than, nor less than, $100.

Which Online Casino Games Are Most Popular?

The most popular games in every online casino are slot machines and blackjack. Other common online casino games include roulette, craps, baccarat, keno, and bingo.

What Are The Advantages To Gambling Online?

The internet has had a profound impact on various industries though it is perhaps the gambling industry that has endured the largest transformation. From humble beginnings, the online gambling industry quickly escalated into a multi-billion dollar industry.

Here are just a few advantages to gambling online:

Convenience

There is no doubt that convenience is the most crucial advantage when it comes to the growth of the online gambling industry. One can play just about any game, at any hour, from any place.

Choose Your Stakes

When you are at the casino you are limited to whatever stakes the casino wishes to offer; At prime time hours you might be hard-pressed to find a table that offers any stakes below $15/hand.

Online casinos patrons can find tables running at a wide variety of stakes, regardless of the time of day. This allows one the chance to take it step by step and fluctuate their wagers as they becomes more comfortable, or get on a streak.

No Waiting

If you are at a small, crowded, or understaffed casino or poker room, you may have to wait in order to play. On the other hand, online casinos do not have to worry about many of the expenses and staffing obligations associated with running a brick and mortar casino.

This means getting in on the action is very rarely an issue. If a table is full, the online casino will automatically have another one ready and waiting for you.

What Are The Disadvantages To Gambling Online?

While it’s no secret that online gambling is growing in popularity, there are quite a few factors that separate traditional casinos from online gambling sites. Here are a few disadvantages to gambling online:

Not High Roller Friendly

The meteroic rise of Bitcoin in online gambling has brought more high rollers to online gambling than ever before, but the live casino industry still is far more accommodating to “whales” than online casinos.

Most online gambling sites have transaction limits that pale in comparison to what high roller players wish to wager. This makes it incredibly difficult to get your account funded both quickly and safely.

Lack Of Social Interacting

Live dealer online casinos have certainly helped bridge the gap between live and online casinos, but nothing can compare to the atmosphere at the craps table, roulette wheel, or in the poker room.