Online Casino

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, 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.
Contents


* 1 Online casino types
o 1.1 Web-based online casinos
o 1.2 Download-based online casinos
o 1.3 Live-based casinos
* 2 Games offered
* 3 Signup bonuses
* 4 Fraudulent online casino behavior
* 5 Fraudulent player behavior
* 6 Legality
* 7 See also
* 8 External links

Online casino types

Online casinos can be divided into three groups based on their interface: web-based casinos, download-based casinos, and more recently live casinos. Some casinos offer multiple interfaces.

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.

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.

Live-based casinos

Live-based casino gaming allows web players to interact with games played in a real world casino environment. Online players can see, hear, and interact with live dealers at tables in casino studios worldwide.

Games offered

A typical selection of games offered at an online casino might include:

* Baccarat
* Blackjack
* Craps
* Roulette
* Slot machines
* Video poker

Signup bonuses

Many online casinos offer signup bonuses to new players making their first deposit. These bonuses normally match a percentage of the player's deposit with a dollar maximum, and almost all online casino signup bonuses require a minimum amount of wagering before allowing a cash out. Gameplay at specific casino games might be excluded from the wagering requirement calculation.

A fictional signup bonus offer follows as an example:

* The online casino offers new players a deposit matching bonus of 100%, up to $100
* The player must wager 25 times the total amount of the deposit plus the bonus before withdrawing
* Wagers on baccarat, craps, roulette, and sic bo do not count towards meeting wagering requirements

For this particular example, this would mean that a player depositing $100 would start with $200 in his account. The player must make $5000 ($200 × 25) in wagers before being allowed to make a withdrawal.

Advantage play, bonus hunting, in casino signup 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 signup bonus, the player has an expected profit of $75.

Advantage players who use bonus offers for an expected profit may be called "bonus hunters", "bonus abusers", or "bonus whores". Some online casinos have restrictions regarding "the spirit of the bonus offer" which they sometimes use as a deterrent to what they consider "bonus abuse".

Players should carefully read terms & conditions before claiming a bonus. Some casinos have terms and conditions that are not favorable to the player, such as restricting play to slots (slots typically have one of the highest house edges of all games). Other casinos are not reputable and may pay slowly or may find excuses to avoid paying winnings.