Online Casino Games

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.

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.

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.

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

• Baccarat
• Blackjack
• Craps
• Roulette
• Online slot games
• Online poker

Bonuses – 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. Some bonuses require no deposit to claim them.

Types of no deposit bonuses include

1. A no deposit in pure monetary form, for example $10.
2. Free spins no deposit, this is where they allow free spins on particular games, and then allow you to keep the winnings.
3. Play for a predetermine period of time with x amount of dollars.

Bonuses – Cashable bonuses

The most common form of casino bonuses is the cashable bonus. Cashable bonuses can be cashed out after completing a wagering requirement. A casino might offer a 100% match bonus up to $100 with a wagering requirement of $2000. After wagering $2000 in the casino, the player is able to cash out the $100 bonus.
Cashable bonuses often restrict play on certain games. Wagers made on roulette, baccarat, craps, and sic bo usually do not count towards the wagering requirement because these bets give the player the opportunity to simultaneously bet on winning and losing outcomes, greatly reducing variance.
For example, betting on both red and black in roulette. Wagers on games with a low house edge, like blackjack and video poker, are also often excluded. Some casinos increase the wagering requirement above the default for low-house-edge games. On games without raises or doubles, the expected loss while completing a wagering requirement is wagering requirement * house edge. This makes the expected gain of a cashable bonus equal to bonus – wagering requirement * house edge.

Sticky Bonuses

Non-cashable bonuses are often called “sticky bonuses”. Sticky bonuses can be bet, but cannot be cashed out. When the player makes a withdrawal, the sticky bonus is typically removed from the withdrawal total. A player might receive a 100% match sticky bonus on a $100 deposit with a wagering requirement of $2000.
While meeting the $2000 wagering requirement, the player could bet both the deposit and the sticky bonus. When cashing out, the $100 bonus would be removed from the balance. If the player cashed out $300, $100 would be subtracted out, leaving $200. The player is not allowed to cash out a balance of below $100 since no cash would remain after the bonus is removed.

The average return of a sticky bonus is sometimes expressed in terms of a target gain.
Average return = (chance of reaching target) * (target – bonus – deposit – wagering requirement * house edge) – (chance of not reaching target * deposit). With a target of 2x(bonus+deposit) and 50% chance of reaching the target, the equation reduces to 50% * (bonus – wagering requirement * house edge).

Expressing in terms of chance of bust and “element of risk”, the formula for return becomes bonus * chance of bust – average wagering * element of risk.
The sticky bonus described above that is removed after wagering is sometimes known as a “phantom bonus.” There are other variations of a sticky bonus in which you do not need to exceed your original balance to make a withdrawal. Instead any win is immediately cashable.

Cash back Bonuses

Cash back bonuses are given following a player loss. A portion of the player’s loss is returned, often as cash. For example, a casino might offer a 25% cash back bonus each week. Any player who had a loss over the course of the week, would receive 25% of his loss back. Any player who had a win over the course of the week would not receive a bonus. Cash back bonuses are rare.

Comp Points

Comps are commonly available at land-based casinos, but also exist online. Comp points can usually be exchanged for cash, prizes, or other comps. The amount of cash given per wager is usually very small and often varies with game selection. A casino might offer three comp points for each $10 wagered on slots and one comp point for each $10 wagered on blackjack. The casino might give $1 for each 100 comp points. This example is equivalent to returning 0.3% of wagers on slots and 0.1% of wagers on blackjack.