There is definitely a particular glamour, thrill and romance associated with casino games, but unless you live near Atlantic City, within the state of Nevada, or (in some parts of the country) a serious Indian reservation, chances are that opportunities to play real in a real casino don’t exist. Which has all changed, because of the internet. Over the Web, casino games are available to virtually everybody.

What Are Online Casinos?

Generally, an “online casino” is like every other online business – it’s a virtual, “cyber-version” of a traditional brick-and-mortar institution. Also called “virtual,” and/or “Internet” casinos, these sites enable people to place bets on traditional games, and include:

online blackjack – online slots – safe online casino slot video poker – online roulette wheels

and just about all the best games you are knowledgeable about.

Are the Odds Any Better Online?

On the whole, odds and payback percentages for casinos online are about the same since they are for brick-and-mortar casinos. Actually, here within the Digital Age, you may find a great deal of the same technology used in online games while you will in Las Vegas, especially with online slots; modern digital slot machines use random number generators. The more reputable web sites which provide online games will publish verifiable payout percentage audits.

Are Online Casinos Trustworthy?

This really is certainly a common – and quite valid – issue. Those that run online gaming sites often lease software from a reputable third party, and as indicated earlier, will often publish payout audits.

Nevertheless, following the old advice of caveat emptor is wise when playing games on the World Wide Web. There are actually documented cases of fraudulent casinos, but interestingly, this fraud usually has little to do with the virtual games themselves. Typically, the fraud involves unreasonable delays or outright refusals to pay withdrawals.

The excellent news is that on the internet, reputation spreads fast. When fraud on the part of a casino website has been documented enough times, the internet gaming community labels it a “rogue casino;” online player’s forums often maintain lists of such dishonest casinos, and these do not remain online for very long.

It works both ways, incidentally; some players attempt to cheat by signing up with multiple identities to be able to claim sign-on bonuses, or take a screenshot and alter it with graphics editing software so that you can create a faked image of a winning online video poker hand or online slots jackpot as a way to try to claim winnings. Such players may be tracked and may find themselves locked out permanently.