What do we think of when we think of casinos? We picture well-dressed, beautiful people sipping scotch and coolly placing life or death wagers against an impassive croupier. We think of elegance, luxury, and giant stacks of chips being pushed across a pristine green felt table. We think of a crowd of people cheering on the underdog as the roulette wheel spins in their favor over and over again.
However, real life is not always like the movies and physical casinos aren’t always the picture of elegance we’d like them to be. As anyone who has ever decided to pop into their local gambling den on a weeknight will know, it’s not exactly a Bond movie 24/7.
Still, there are some people who will still argue that a trip to a physical IRL casino provides a better gambling experience than logging onto an online equivalent. We can be sure that the virtual casinos are popular (the UK gambling commission calculated that remote casinos made 3.2 billion pounds from September 2018 to October 2019), but what is it that’s luring people off the floor and onto the web? Here are a few facts that even the purists will find hard to dispute.
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There’s so much more choice
A person could lose hours upon hours of their life just browsing which games are available in online casinos and gambling sites. From the classic card games and the roulette tables to slots and sports betting, online casinos are bursting with different ways to attract your attention and your bets. So, while you may show up convinced that you’re going to while away an hour or two at a video poker table, you might just try your hand at something else and discover your new favorite game, or take a little nostalgia trip on a retro movie-themed slot.
You can play any time, anywhere
Online gambling is all about accessibility, and we’re not just talking about the comfort of playing from your own home (although there is definitely something to be said for gambling from the comfort of your favorite armchair with a glass of something fancy at your side). You can play from your phone, heck, any mobile device, tablet, pretty much anything with an internet connection. So, whether you’re at home, spending the night in a hotel, or killing time on a long commute, a game is always right there at your fingertips.
You can do your research
Have you ever walked through a casino, found yourself drawn to a table but ended up drifting away because the whole thing felt a little out of your league? Have you lost out on a game because you weren’t 100% sure about the rules, or the stakes? With online gambling, you can always do your homework beforehand to make sure you feel confident before you start putting your money down. There’s an awful lot of information out there to help you not only pick the right game but the right casino for you. With this helpful article, you can see more tips about the best places to play online slots and which games are most popular right now. It’s an invaluable guide for anyone taking their first step into online gambling.
You know exactly how much you’re spending
With online gambling, it’s significantly easier to know exactly how much money you’re placing on a bet, and the fact of being able to see numbers on your screen helps to remind you how much you’ve committed and how much you stand to win. In the heat of the moment, as you’re chasing that big pay-out, it can be easy to lose track, and that’s a sure-fire way to end up losing much more than you can afford. It’s such a simple thing, but it makes a world of difference.
You don’t have to worry about other people
Sure, we all love a poker night catching up with old friends and playfully testing each other’s bluffing skills, but there’s a big difference between that and finding yourself in a noisy, crowded casino on a Saturday night. Whether it’s the extremely agitated guy in the sunglasses who are taking the whole thing a little too seriously for your liking or the stag night crowd that’s just poured in and is spilling beer over your cards as they jostle around shouting about bluffing, sometimes the adage that hell is other people rings true. So, while you inevitably lose a little of the social aspect in online gambling, there’s absolutely none of the irritation and stress that comes from being stuck in a room with a bunch of unpredictable strangers.
The pressure is off
There is something about making a commitment to spending an evening at the casino that can turn a casual evening of entertainment into something a lot more stressful. You’ve got your chips, you’ve committed, and everyone is watching to see what you’re going to do. Out in public under the watchful eye of the staff and bystanders, every loss hits harder, every stake feels higher. When you’re gambling online, you can just step up and walk away, switch off your device for a bit and go and make a drink or catch up with friends. While the stakes of the game are just as high (as are the pay-outs, by the way), the actual act of placing a bet feels significantly less pressured than it sometimes does in person.
It is safe
We’re not saying that IRL casinos aren’t safe. Far from it. However, one of the main concerns you’ll often hear from people who don’t gamble online is that these online casinos are not above board. With a little research and some simple steps to make sure your device and information is secure, you’ll soon see that the vast majority of popular online casinos and gambling sites are perfectly safe, and their customer service will answer any queries or concerns you might have. In the UK, additional regulations coming in will make it even harder for dodgy sites to operate. You can place your bets secure in the knowledge that your winnings will come right back to you.