Online casinos are sites that facilitate or host gambling on the internet. They are usually considered out of the jurisdiction of the laws of the country that the players are from.
Only the laws of the country where the servers that host the online casinos are based need apply. As such online casinos have grown exponentially in popularity. Around these casinos an entire industry has grown.
Online casinos have overhead costs that are a fraction of the cost involved with running a land based casino and as such most online casinos offer better odds, prizes and promotions. One of the biggest factors in online casino popularity is of course the essential; removal of time and space that internet enabled devices provide.
Players can play in the comfort of their own home on their computers or they can play on the go using mobile devices. Another big factor in online casinos is the relative anonymity of players on the online casino.
The Two Forms of Online Casino
Online Casinos can either feature software that requires players to download what is known as a client in order to play them. They can also feature a Flash casino, so called because it allows players to play games directly in their browser using Flash technology.
Most casinos use a combination of both these forms of gaming. Generally speaking, downloading software allows players to have a faster and richer gaming experience as their computer or mobile device processes the graphics and sound of the game. The flash games on the other hand need to stream the graphics and sound via the internet.
Depending on the bandwidth of your internet connection, flash games can potentially result in a slow and unsatisfactory gaming experience.
Online Casino Software and Developers
Online casino software makes use of special programs called Random Number Generators that generates the element of randomness present in card shuffles and slot reels. This software can be tested to be proven accurate and truly random. Because of this many online casinos proudly display the test results provided by independent auditors who test and confirm that a specific online casino hosts software that is truly random and fair.
The software hosted oat online casinos are created by a number of software developers who have started specialising in casino games and have even started patenting their own unique versions of popular casino games and in doing so ensures the future of the online gaming industry.
Some of the most highly regarded developer includes Playtech, Cryptologic as well as Bally, who started in the casino industry by creating mechanical slot machines. Most slot machines companies have started expanding their business to also include online slot titles, although currently most of the big name companies simply licence their brands to software developers.
Live Dealer Online Casinos
A relatively new development that is also heavily reliant on a large bandwidth is Live Dealer. This is where a casino site hires professional dealers who interact with players via web cam. They live stream the game and players join in.
This is a great way of offering human interaction to players to complete the full casino experience. The form of the interface however does limit the types of games that can be played and the amount of players that can take part at this same time.
This in turn has led to the development of games tailored to live video streamed dealers, like Casino Holdem. Whether you are trying out slots, poker, roulette or bingo, make sure you put these tips to good use.