From Betting Slips to Bonus Spins: Why Some Punters Are Trying Online Casinos
The world of gambling is in something of a flux. This is reflected in the increasing number of people switching away from traditional methods of placing bets, such as in physical betting shops, to online platforms.
Official figures show that the number of bookies’ shops has decreased by over 22% since 2019, while revenues from remote gambling have increased by over 20% in the same period.
So, what is it that’s attracting this huge upsurge of interest in online gambling, and casinos in particular? And will the online experience become truly dominant?
Convenience
The first feature is undoubtedly convenience. What could be easier than logging onto the internet and being able to play favourite casino games?
What’s more, they are all available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. More people are also now choosing to play these games on their mobile devices, literally anywhere that they can get online.
Compare this with having to get dressed up to go out to a physical casino, exchange cash for chips and then hope that there’s space on the gaming table where you want to play.
Plus, online casinos know that to encourage players they need to make everything as simple and straightforward as possible – and far less daunting than trying out a land-based casino for the first time.
Choice of games
They say that variety is the spice of life, and that’s exactly what players can expect from an online casino.
For example, there are typically many hundreds of different slot games to play.
So, whether players are looking for a game that promises a life-changing jackpot or one that offers smaller, more frequent payouts, there’ll be plenty of options.
Equally, a comprehensive range of themes will be available, from classic fruit machines to those with tie-ins to TV shows or movies.
Looking at the ever-popular table games like roulette, blackjack, and baccarat, these are available in a vast number of different versions online, with varying stake levels and features.
The Live Casino
You could argue that the one thing lacking from the online casino experience is the ambience of the “real” thing.
However, online casinos have been aware of this fact for some time now. That’s why most of the leading ones such, as those recommended by Casino.co.uk now, feature a live casino element.
At a live casino, the games are played in a simulated real casino environment. A live dealer is running the game, dealing the cards or spinning the roulette wheel.
The action is then cleverly digitised to enable online play and streamed, live and direct, to the gambler’s chosen device.
Winnings are automatically transferred to their account, eliminating the need to cash in chips at the end of their playing session. Additionally, players can chat online with the dealers as they play.
Generous bonuses to play
Another area in which online casinos win out is in the use of bonuses. It’s an intensely competitive sector, so all operators need to work extra hard to stand out.
They do this by offering the kinds of bonuses not generally provided by their brick-and-mortar rivals.
These bonuses take several forms. The most common is stake matching – they will provide the equivalent amount of stake money to a player’s initial deposit.
For example, if £50 is deposited into an account, the casino will match it with £ 50 to play with, effectively doubling the amount to £ 100.
There will be certain restrictions, such as time limits for claiming and wagering limits that must be met before winnings can be paid out. But these are generally clearly explained in the terms and conditions.
The other common form of bonus is a set number of free spins on selected slot games. Often, stake matching and free spins are combined as an initial offer.
Once players have been with an online casino for a while, they’re also likely to be enrolled in a loyalty programme with an increasing number of benefits the more that they play.
Safety and security
The final piece in the jigsaw that makes online casinos so appealing to players is the safety and security on offer.
All reputable casinos use high levels of encryption to keep personal details safe – an essential consideration in a world where cyber-crime is on the increase.
Because online casinos are also constantly under scrutiny to ensure fairness, players can be confident that the games produce genuinely random results, just as in a real casino using actual roulette wheels and decks of cards – although this is obviously not an issue when playing in an online live casino.
So it all adds up to a very compelling number of reasons why more people are seeking their casino action online. A trend that’s sure to continue in the future.
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