Popular gambling games like blackjack, roulette and poker are casino staples all over the world, but technology allows us to take the world and encapsulate it, project it through our computer screen and have experiences that weren’t possible when there was no internet around. Online versions of casinos are one of the examples of the advantages of the World Wide Web. On specialized websites, you can get access to thousands of gambling games, make bets online and collect winnings just as easily.
People spend a lot of time online, searching for the ideal form of entertainment. Casino sites provide a unique type of entertainment, different from video games, content streaming platforms and other similar portals. At a casino online, a person can play games while investing real money in order to win real money back. Games of chance is something people have been passionate about since the dawn of history. Online casinos are merely a continuation of this passion.
Internet gambling is a way for people to test their good fortune and even their skills in specific games. By playing at casinos online, reviewed on trustedbookmaker.com, bettors not only have personal satisfaction – they can also obtain significant winnings as a materialization of their success. Becoming an online casino player does not require any particular preparation or extensive knowledge.
The majority of casino games online are simple and easy to play, and being only a few clicks away, they are convenient and place very few limitations on the players and their gambling style. Online casino games are based on the real gambling games found at brick-and-mortar casinos. The web-based environment allows game designers more freedom, so online casinos often have a greater variety of popular games on offer. Online casinos operate as entertainment websites, providing a range of services to their members. The overall online casino experience is not radically different from a gambling experience on the Las Vegas Strip – except, it is translated to the online realm.
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What is an online casino? How does an online casino site work? If you are among those who believe online casinos sound complicated and going through the hassle of joining one is not worth it, the reality of it is straightforward and unchallenging. In simple words, online casinos are websites where people from the UK can enjoy online gambling. Casinos on the internet are aggregators of online gambling games where players can choose their preferred game types, make bets on them and get paid the value of their winnings
For someone to be able to play casino games online, they need to open an account with a chosen online casino site. Subsequently, they need to add real money funds to the account. After that, they will be able to place wagers on roulette, blackjack, poker and various other games of chance. So, the idea behind a casino online is not new, it is merely an online equivalent of going to a land-based casino venue, buying chips from the cashier and sitting at the blackjack table, making bets.
Since players can bet their real money at online casinos, there is a range of supporting services and features available at online casino sites. These features include online casino banking, customer support, user experience and navigation, bonuses and promotions, responsible gaming tools and so on. Online casino games themselves are unique, being run by software. Over the years, casino players would express scepticism about internet gambling games, not being sure of their privacy and fairness. However, technology for developing online gambling software is so advanced that UK punters can be certain of the games’ safety, fairness and stability.
Instead of getting a membership card, which would be the custom at a physical casino, a player is required to create and verify an online account. This process is easy, intuitive and quick. In a matter of minutes, every UK resident of legal gambling age can go online, open a casino account and have the necessary login details for future access anytime, anywhere.
Starting with the most obvious difference between the two – online casinos exist on the internet (or at least originate on the internet) and only have a virtual form, whereas land-based casinos are physical establishments with gambling rooms, staff, amenities and accommodation. Online casinos are inspired by physical casino venues and often try to emulate the offerings of brick-and-mortar casinos.
Land-based casino facilities typically include hundreds of gambling machines and dozens of betting tables where patrons can enjoy poker, blackjack, craps and other table games. Online casinos, on the other hand, are not limited by physical premises. In other words, you can find a greater number of games available for online play, at some casinos counted in the thousands, all in one place. The variety of games is expanded online with multiple sub-types of popular games, often interesting and innovative variants that are not available offline.
When a player visits a land-based casino, they experience everything face to face. There may be noisy interaction between players on the casino floor, and a multitude of sensations that are different during online gambling. If you join an online casino, you are not obligated to go anywhere. You can stay at home and play the games you wish to play at any time of day. You will remain anonymous and retain your privacy. Online casinos will not require you to show up at any particular time. The opening hours of casinos online are non-stop. On the other hand, land-based casinos have working hours and dress codes their patrons are expected to adhere to.
Land-based casinos are not as easily accessible as online casinos. If you wish to visit a physical casino, you often need to make travel plans, spend money on the trip, as well as risk traffic delays. With online casinos, gamblers have the freedom to play anywhere, as long as they have a PC, laptop, smartphone or tablet. As an online casino player, you may be at your office, house, on the bus or having a walk around the park, you can access a casino website and play. Easy accessibility is the advantage of online casinos among modern, busy UK players who carefully choose what they want to spend their free time on.
From the perspective of someone who is a first-time bettor, online casinos provide something that land-based gambling venues don’t, and that is practice. Online casino sites offer demo games that are free to play, so players can go over several rounds without stakes or bets, until they learn how a specific game works. This is not possible at a brick-and-mortar casino and first-time gamblers often end up losing money because of their lack of experience and practice.
Another notable difference between online casinos and offline gambling establishments is the offer of bonuses and promotions. At land-based casinos, patrons can get freebies – often free drinks or free chips and some loyalty perks. At online casinos, members can count on welcome bonuses, cashback deals, free spins on slots, VIP clubs, tournaments and prize drops, to name just a few forms of incentivizing customers.
The development of online casinos was possible after desktop computers found their way into private homes. With people getting PCs and with the advent of the internet, a strong connection was slowly emerging among everyone interested in spending their time online. When connected, people often want to engage in games, so the atmosphere was just right for online casinos sites to become operational.
Gambling itself is centuries old, yet internet gambling appeared in the mid-90s. Shortly after the internet was invented and launched, the first online casino sites went online. Interestingly, the first gambling sites were closely related to the Caribbean state of Antigua and Barbuda. This was the first country to issue online gambling licenses, after having passed its Free Trade and Processing Zone Act. The first-ever online casino was called The Gaming Club and it was launched by Microgaming, an iGaming company now well-known as a veteran in the business.
A few other domains started offering online casino games, and all of this was happening from 1994 to 1996. By 1997, there were already over 200 online casino websites serving gamblers remotely. One of the early casinos still operating today is InterCasino, although many other brands are more popular, such as LeoVegas Casino, Unibet and 888Casino, for example.
In the beginning of the online casino era, gambling sites were not as flamboyant as they are today. The choice of games was very limited and the software was not intuitive, sporting poor graphics. Nevertheless, online casinos were perceived as technologically advanced platforms at the time. Over the years, the quality of online casino sites constantly improved, including new functionalities, faster operations, more convenient tools and additional incentives. Today, the global online casino market is highly competitive, with thousands of web-based portals offering online casino games and processing real money transactions on the internet.
Very early in the online gambling trend, the UK took part in it. The UK Gambling Commission, which enacted the Gambling Act of 2005, regulated the UK online casino market and allowed for a significant change and surge of web casinos in the country. After 2008, smartphone-based gambling became a new branch of remote gambling, taking UK punters into a bright gambling future.
Very early in the online gambling trend, the UK took part in it. The UK Gambling Commission, which enacted the Gambling Act of 2005, regulated the UK online casino market and allowed for a significant change and surge of web casinos in the country. After 2008, smartphone-based gambling became a new branch of remote gambling, taking UK punters into a bright gambling future.
Unique software is necessary for online casinos to be functional. Modern casinos on the internet use sophisticated software developed by specialized companies. Online casino software is what we refer to when we talk about the games on offer, on their features, appearance, sound effects and functionality. As a player, a person doesn’t need to know how the software works in detail, but it helps to be aware of the basic principles and aspects that software developers have in mind when they create and deliver virtual games for online casino sites. In a land-based casino, professional casino employees such as croupiers, hosts and pit bosses are in charge of what happens. In an online environment, it is the computer program that does most of the work.
For online casino games to have outcomes – completely random and fair outcomes – their developers need to use an advanced program algorithm that is referred to as the RNG. This stands for Random Number Generator. It is a program that does precisely that, it generates random numbers which are presented on our screen as random results in an online casino roulette game or an online slot machine.
Note that we are giving an oversimplified definition of an RNG system. After all, it is a complex programming technique, an advanced method that ensures total randomness. As soon as the player bets on a gambling game, the RNG is set in motion, creating random sequences of numbers with no set pattern. This way there is no way of manipulating or predicting the outcome of a roulette wheel spin or the next dealing of the cards.
The popularity of smartphones pushed forward the limitations of the online gaming industry one more time. Apart from being based on RNG, casino games now need to run in HTML5, which makes them optimized for mobile play.
There are many online casino software developing companies. UK players can trust most of them, considering the high standards that are in place thanks to the UKGC. But if we had to single out brands that are most influential in the UK market, these would have to be companies such as Net Entertainment, Evolution Gaming, Playtech, Microgaming, IGT, NextGen and Big Time Gaming, to name but a few.
Software providers for casino sites develop video slots, virtual table games, virtual sports betting solutions, live dealer casino games, bingo, lottery, and other forms of online gambling games. They not only create and implement a unique game design, but they also make sure that every game has a betting option configured for fiat currency and even cryptocurrency nowadays. Some software companies focus on one game type only, developing strictly slots for example, or live casino games. Others try to demonstrate their skill in multiple sectors, covering slots, table games and instant-win games simultaneously, for example. The efforts of software providers are recognized during multiple iGaming industry awards events, like the International Gaming Awards or the EGR Operators Awards.
So, what do online casino sites have to offer? Plenty. Every well-known and trusted gambling website will go above and beyond to provide an extensive library of games to its customers. Due to our culture of fast living, games like slots are proven to be the most popular, so online casinos will offer hundreds of them, sometimes even thousands. Naturally, table games are still a part of the casino environment, one that cannot be replaced, only updated with more modern features. Within this category, you can find different types of table games, including card games like poker and blackjack, baccarat and even Casino War.
Furthermore, you can expect to see variations of roulette and games of chance played with dice. If a casino is supplied well and it cooperates with a multitude of different providers, it will also offer bingo games, keno, scratch cards and online video poker machines.
Online slots have been around since the beginning of internet casinos. At that point, they had simple designs and “primitive” mechanics. Today, online slots are more complex, with thousands of potential winning combinations, levels, bonus rounds and win modifiers. There is an obvious difference in the graphic representation, too. Modern video slots have all sorts of themes, whereas classic slot machines have fruits for symbols and no particular theme or narrative. One thing about them has remained the same over the years – they are just as simple to play now as they were before. All the player has to do is set the stakes and hit the spin button! The reels will start moving, and if a bonus round is triggered, the player may need to pick specific symbols to reveal a prize. Minimum effort for tons of fun.
As for table games, the range of online versions of blackjack, poker and roulette have significantly expanded in the previous decade. Dozens of games are offered at online casinos, apart from the standard versions. New possibilities include side bets and versions with a twist in the rules. All of it is rather exciting, especially when different software providers show their unique take on a classic casino table game.
As online gaming technology evolved, someone realized that video streaming could also find good use in the industry. As a result, live casino games were invented and have now become one of the most popular types of gaming on the internet. It is almost impossible to find a online casino without a live casino section, providing games like live roulette, live blackjack, live poker, and live game shows.
Live casino is a sub-department of online casino. These gambling games are also hosted online and players can take part in them remotely. However, there is a big difference between live casino and regular, virtual casino run by RNGs. Live casino, as the name itself implies, is live – it involves live streaming of a casino game taking place in an authentic physical environment.
The players, when engaged in a live casino game, have the chance to observe everything that happens over the table thanks to cameras and a video feed that transmits the action in real time. Live casino gameplay includes live dealers, just like the ones you would encounter at land-based gambling locations. The software makes it possible for players to make bets virtually, and the dealer receives feedback about the actions made by participants over a screen on their own. Online casino games presented rendered versions of cards, the table and other items relevant to the game, whereas in a live casino game everything you see is real and authentic.
To prevent online gambling from getting out of hand, many countries have established legal frameworks and online casinos are obligated to operate within that framework. The legalities of online gambling are complicated, but for players it is essential to know that the casino website they are playing at is legal, licensed and regulated. Casino sites that wish to offer their services to players in the United Kingdom need to apply for a license from the UK Gambling Commission.
Being mindful of the industry regulation and legislation is something that will improve your financial safety. Unlicensed, unregulated websites exist, and if players aren’t careful, they might end up losing money without the possibility of getting help from any official institution. While an online gambling website might look legitimate, you should always make sure that it is. As mentioned, the main licensing body for the UK is the Gambling Commission, so you should only play at sites with a UKGC logo on them.
Typing in “online casino” in the browser will not provide you with a list of the most trusted gambling websites in the UK. Choosing a suitable casino site requires deeper research and a solid understanding of what makes a good online casino. To make the right selection, a player should consider various aspects, as there are many things to look out for. Let’s assume you are new to the world of online casinos and have no idea what is valuable, what you should be choosing. Before you refer to some overly detailed expert guide, here is a summary of the most important characteristics you should seek out in a casino for it to be worthy of your registration.
A multitude of other factors may come into play and each player is free to let their personal preference dictate their choice. For some players, it is crucial that the online casino they play at has advanced device compatibility, while others may be looking for specifics, like particular games or deposit methods.
First-time visitors at online casinos often think that the registration process is long and tedious. Is it even safe? – one might ask. We are here to tell you that the registration process is harmless and hassle-free at most UK online casinos. It is not much different from setting up a profile at an online shopping website, for example. You simply need to establish a profile for yourself as a user, and prove that you are of legal gambling age. Different casinos may have different protocols for signing up new members, but there are universal stages of the registration process that are more or less the same across all online casinos in the UK.
Here is what the typical online casino registration experience looks like:
The registration is usually complete in a matter of minutes. Afterwards, the online casino player can make a deposit and play, but they can only ask for a payout if their account is fully verified. This includes a KYC protocol which requires providing authentic images of an ID and a proof of address.
Based on the interface, online casino platforms can be divided into three major groups. In reality, these groups do not exclude one another. It is not uncommon for a virtual casino to take all three forms. To be able to use any of these forms of online casinos you need to have a device, a computer, tablet or a smartphone.
The numerous benefits of placing bets at trusted UK casinos include playing in a home environment and having access around the clock. Most casinos on the web have advantageous booster systems built around promotional packages and continuous offers for the most active players.
If you are a fan of slot machines, you can stop going to the local pub and join an online casino instead. Why? Because a good online casino will provide you with a much bigger variety of games that will reward you with a better payout percentage. You will feel no pressure from the environment, you can play at your own pace and you have full control over your finances. Technical support will be there to help with anything regarding deposits, withdrawals and games. The level of comfort and accessibility with online casinos is nearly unmatched.
Author
Nick Griffin
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