Gambling used to be done in person at the number of casinos around the world. Thanks to the Internet, online casinos have become one of the most popular places to visit anywhere else. Even with the inclusion of lots of things done online, in person casinos are still doing just fine.
But what exactly is the difference between gambling online with sites like the Carnival Room and in person in places like Caesar’s Palace? We’ll be taking a look at five differences here shortly.
Even after being around since the beginning of the Internet, we are witnessing a newfound popularity for online casinos. Especially when there are many games like slots and blackjack that can be played on either a PC, tablet, or a smartphone.
If you want to know some of the differences between online and in person gambling, keep reading. Now, let’s get right to it:
1. The “Complimentary” Stuff
In most in-person casinos, visitors are showered with all kinds of complimentary stuff. We’re talking dinners, drinks, chips, the whole nine yards. Their main goal is to get people to stay as long as possible and encourage them to play a wide variety of games.
With online casinos, you get plenty of bonuses such as welcome bonuses just for signing up. On top of that, online casinos also have a lot of promos that will run daily, weekly, even monthly. The goal of course: to retain the players.
Simply put, while the concept is the same, both in person and online casinos offer something completely different in terms of “complimentary things”. While you won’t get complimentary hot wings from an online casino, you may be satisfied with 100 free spins on your favorite casino slot machine.
2. The “Design”
The in-person casinos are large in design. Not to mention, they are very complicated to navigate. It’s safe to say that these designs were done on purpose.
This is just another way to keep players inside for a while so they can be able to stop, play games to pass the time, and try to find a way to get out. With online casinos, it’s completely different.
With most online casinos, the user experience and navigation is pretty simple. You don’t have to navigate through poorly designed websites. Everything is straightforward and to the point.
As far as the design is concerned, online casinos win hands down in terms of ease. You’ll know what games are available and where to find them.
3. Strategy use
Here’s what we mean by this: there are certain strategies with some games that you can employ. Take for instance, blackjack. The thing with blackjack is you can try these tips and tricks such as card counting or hole-carding.
You may be watched by pit bosses or security when they see you win hand after hand. With online casinos, it’s actually very difficult to pull off. However, you may use basic strategies such as knowing when to hit and knowing when to stand.
It would be very difficult to “cheat” or use a strategy that may draw attention to users in an online casino. And cheating is a violation of the terms of use (which will obviously lead to a permanent ban).
If you are playing online, using basic strategies to play longer will be your best option. Winning consecutive hands of blackjack might be just luck, even if you do create it.
4. Human contact
This is one of the most obvious differences. When you are at an in-person casino, obviously you are interacting with other people. Your fellow gamblers, the dealers, the wait staff, and everyone in between.
With online casinos, there may be a social function where you can interact with fellow online gamblers in real time via chat. However, the one thing that is missing is face to face contact.
With the inclusion of live dealers for most online casinos, it makes the interaction a lot easier between the live dealer and the online players. But still, it’s not quite as good as the in-person contact.
But regardless, it’s the closest that you can get to a Vegas or Monte Carlo experience.
5. Payment Methods
The final major difference between gambling online and in person is the payment methods. In-person casinos only accept cash. Online casinos do not.
But online casinos accept credit or debit cards, PayPal, and even Bitcoin. Regardless, you can get the money for chips, spins, or what have you and begin to play. When the time comes to cash out, you have plenty of options when you are online.
One major downside to online casinos is that depending on the casino, the timing of the payouts will vary. But with in-person casinos, your payout will be immediate just as you are leaving the casino.
One of the prime concerns with payment methods online is security. It may not be a good idea to exchange any kind of financial information over the Internet. But most users would be confident enough to do so knowing that the security software the online casino runs is reliable.
While there is no guarantee a security breach will never happen, the likelihood is low. But what can go wrong, will go wrong. And it could take the right kind of hacker skills to pull it off.
But for the moment, many online casinos will have protected encryption so that your financial information is never compromised.
Final Thoughts
These five differences between gambling online and in person are just a few of the many. However, you might be hard-pressed to choose one over the other depending on your personal preferences.
Some would rather gamble online only as opposed to traveling to a casino to lose a lot of money. Also, they’d prefer an online casino since they won’t be hounded by casino staff to stay on longer and spend more money in the process.
A lot of people will still go to a land-based casino in person for various reasons. Maybe there are complimentary can’t miss bonuses or something like live entertainment. And yes, let’s not forget those hard to resist travel deals.
