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Online casinos, also known as virtual casinos or Internet
casinos, are online versions of traditional ("brick and mortar") casinos.
Online casinos enable gamblers to play and wager on casino games through the
Internet.
Online casinos generally offer odds and payback percentages that are
comparable to land-based casinos. Some online casinos claim higher payback
percentages for slot machine games, and some publish payout percentage audits on
their websites. Assuming that the online casino is using an appropriately
programmed random number generator, table games like blackjack have an
established house edge. The payout percentage for these games are established by
the rules of the game.
Reliability and trust issues are commonplace and often questioned. Many
online casinos lease or purchase their software from well-known companies like
Microgaming, Realtime Gaming, Playtech, International Game Technology and
CryptoLogic Inc in an attempt to "piggyback" their reputation on the software
manufacturer's credibility. These software companies either use or claim to use
random number generators to ensure that the numbers, cards or dice appear
randomly.
Online casino types
Online casinos can be divided into two groups based on their interface:
web-based and download-only casinos. Some casinos offer both interfaces.
Some casinos offer 'Live gaming', either exclusively, or as part of a wider
online casino offering. In live online casinos, popular casino games such as
roulette and blackjack are dealt by real dealers in casino studios, in an
attempt to convey more of the atmosphere of a physical casino. Player actions
(including chat) such as 'hit' in the game of blackjack may be transmitted to
the dealer; in some online casinos more than one player may 'sit' at a
particular 'seat' on the table, and in this case there is no interactivity
between player and dealer, the question of which player(s) requested the extra
card that the dealer dealt and which chose to 'stand' will be handled by the
software. It is usual for players to be able to observe a video feed of the
action, and equally common for players to opt to turn it off, if they lack the
bandwidth - as the cards are read by OCR and other technology, the video feed is
only ever a visual cue.
Web-based online
casinos
Web-based online casinos are websites where users may play casino games
without downloading software to the local computer. Games are mainly represented
in the browser plugins Macromedia Flash, Macromedia Shockwave, or Java and
require browser support for these plugins. Also, bandwidth is needed since all
graphics, sounds and animations are loaded through the web via the plugin. Some
online casinos also allow gameplay through a plain HTML interface. Apple devices
such as Ipod, Ipad and Iphone cannot play Flash games as the technology is not
supported.
Download-based
online casinos
Download-based online casinos require the download of the software client in
order to play and wager on the casino games offered. The online casino software
connects to the casino service provider and handles contact without browser
support. Download-based online casinos generally run faster than web-based
online casinos since the graphics and sound programs are located within the
software client, rather than having to be loaded from the Internet. On the other
hand, the initial download and installation of a download-based online casino
client does take time. As with any download from the Internet, the risk of the
program containing malware does exist. Still the graphics and sounds at
download-based online casinos are most of the time much better than those at
web-based online casinos.
Bonuses
Many online casinos offer sign-up bonuses to new players making their first
deposit, and often on subsequent play as well. These bonuses are a form of
marketing that may incur a cost (potentially justifiable in order to attract a
new player who may return and deposit many more times), since the casino is
essentially giving away money, in return for a commitment from the player to
wager a certain minimum amount, usually a multiple of the deposit and/or bonus
credited to the player's account. Since all casino games have a house edge, the
wagering requirements ensure that the player cannot simply walk away with the
casino's money, and indeed if the wagering requirements are sufficiently high,
he may in fact have a negative expectation, exactly as if he had deposited
without any bonus.
Casinos may choose to restrict certain games from fulfilling the wagering
requirements, either to restrict players from playing low-edge games, or to
restrict 'risk-free' play (betting for instance both red and black on roulette,
thereby completing the wagering requirement with a guaranteed profit, after the
bonus is taken into account.[1]
Non-cashable bonuses
Non-cashable bonuses may be called "sticky" or "phantom" bonuses.[2]
In both cases, the bonus forms a part of the player's balance, but cannot be
cashed out. The difference comes at cashout time. A phantom bonus disappears
when the player cashes out, while the sticky bonus 'sticks' to the player's
account until it is lost.
Comp points
Comps are commonly available at land-based casinos, but also exist online.
Comp points can usually be exchanged for cash, prizes, or other comps. The
amount of cash given per wager is usually very small and often varies with game
selection. A casino might offer three comp points for each $10 wagered on slots
and one comp point for each $10 wagered on blackjack. The casino might give $1
for each 100 comp points. This example is equivalent to returning 0.3% of wagers
on slots and 0.1% of wagers on blackjack. In addition online casinos may offer
comps such as free tickets to online tournaments, tickets to other special
events, extra bonuses, souvenirs and pay back.
Bonus hunting
Bonus hunting (also known as bonus bagging or bonus whoring)
is a type of advantage gambling where turning a profit from casino, sportsbook
and poker room bonus situations is mathematically possible. For example, the
house edge in blackjack is roughly 0.5%. In the example above, $5000 in wagering
with a house edge of 0.5% will result in an expected loss of $25. Since the
player received a $100 sign-up bonus, after subtracting the expected loss of
$25, the player has an expected gain of $75.
Notes
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