The Greatest Gambling Guide to Real Money Online Casinos
It wasn’t that long ago that anyone who wanted to play at a world class casino had to be prepared to travel. In most cases, they needed to travel hundreds of miles or more since places where people gambled were seldom near major population centers. Whether you made a trip to Las Vegas, Atlantic City or the Mississippi Gulf Coast it was a long drive or flight away. Once you got there you had to deal with crowds, traffic, parking and countless other hassles. Not to mention the fact that the trip alone might cost well over a thousand dollars before you even get the chance to sit down at the gaming table.
Like every other aspect of modern life, the growth of the Internet and the digital revolution it set into motion has changed everything. It is now possible to enjoy the best in casino gaming without having to leave your home or office. Everything a casino player could possibly want from their gambling experience is just a click away. In many ways, an online real money casino offers many benefits that ‘brick and mortar’ properties simply can’t match. You’ll find a greater variety of games, a wider range of limits and countless other options online that you won’t find at even the biggest land based property. They offer more promotions, generous bonuses and superior customer service. Above all else, they offer the most convenient gaming experience anywhere—online casinos are designed with ease of use in mind and they are available to you 24/7 from anywhere you might be.
Our goal is to give you all the information you need to select the right online casino experience for your needs. We’ll educate you on the advantages of real money casinos, how they compare to free play casinos and how to decide the best place for your personal gaming style.
Real Money vs Free Play Casinos
There’s likely no need to explain the primary difference between real money and free play casinos. You’re not going to win any ‘real money’ unless you play at a real money casino. Ultimately, winning money is the primary point of gambling in the first place. You’ll also need to be playing at a real money casino to get the best perks like bonuses, rebates, contests, etc.
Differences Between Real Money & Free Play Casinos
Free Play Casinos
A free play casino allows you to play a variety of free play gaming options. You’ll never need to deposit funds or withdraw funds. You’ll likely not need to sign up at all and if you do it’ll just be to get a user name and ID. This is all fine and good and there’s no way you can lose money at a free play casino. There is a big downside—you can’t win any money at a free play casino.
Most free play casinos operate based on ‘credits’. These credits are worthless in the ‘real world’ much in the same way that Monopoly money is worthless outside of the game. You need credits to play any of the games at a free casino and you’ll typically get a specific amount of credits when you register.
So what happens when you run out of credits? It varies from one site to another. Some free casinos will just let you replenish your credit ‘bankroll’ at any time. Other free casinos might only refresh your credit balance at a certain time every week. Some free casinos use credits as an incentive for you to click on their advertising or take surveys which makes them some (real) money. There are also casinos that let you buy more credits with actual money. There’s not really any point to this but some people take this option.
Free play casinos have their place. If you know that you’ll never want to win money by playing real money games a free play casino could be a perfect fit. It’s also a good way to learn the rules of a new casino game or brush up on a game you haven’t played in awhile.
Real Money Casinos
A real money casino operates essentially the same way as any land based casino. You can play a wide variety of casino games with real money. If you’re a winner at a real money casino you can withdraw your profits by a variety of methods.
To play at a real money casino you deposit your wagering bankroll using any of the methods offered. There will likely be a deposit method that serves your needs such as Bitcoin, Neteller, PayPal, credit cards or a bank transfer. Once you’ve made your deposit and funded your account you’ll be ready to play the casino game of your choice for a chance to win real money. It’s also important to understand the implications of real money casino betting. If you lose, you don’t get a refund. This is why it’s essential to understand the concept of risk and to have a sound money management strategy. It should go without saying that you shouldn’t risk money that you can’t afford to lose. If you can’t afford to lose your casino bankroll you’ll be under too much stress to enjoy yourself. Learning discipline and self control are essential to becoming a successful gambler at any type of casino including an online real money site. The good news is that there are games that will fit any budget from casual players to real money and everything in between.
Benefits of Real Money & Free Play Casinos
We outlined some of the basic benefits of free play and real money casinos in the previous section. We’ll now go into greater depth to explain the unique benefits of each.
Advantages of Free Play Casinos
The advantage of free play casinos is obvious: you can’t lose any money. You’ll be able to play the games with the exception of progressive jackpot slots and video poker. Assuming you have credits to play with you can play as long as you want without risk. You don’t need to worry about money management and risk. You can keep playing as long as your credits hold out or until you get bored. Free play casinos are good for some casual entertainment and to practice new games until you’re comfortable with them. Otherwise, play can quickly get tedious without the opportunity to win real money.
Advantages of Real Money Casinos
The advantage of real money casinos is also obvious: you have the opportunity to win money. You can play in such a way that works for your risk profile, wagering style and financial goals. If you want to win a life changing jackpot you go for the progressive slot machines. If you’re looking to grind out a profit, you can play a game like blackjack or baccarat.
Real money online casinos have some significant advantages over ‘brick and mortar’ casinos as well. Since they operate with lower overhead they can provide customers with a higher payout percentage and bigger jackpots. It allows you to avoid crowds, traffic, parking and other headaches of land based casino play. Most significantly, you can bet where you want and when you want without the need to travel.
Unique Benefits of Free Play vs Real Play
We outlined some of the basic benefits of free play and real money casinos in the previous section. We’ll now go into greater depth to explain the unique benefits of each.
Free Play Unique Benefits
The player profile at free play casinos cover several different demographics. Players can play for entertainment without risking real money. This is great for risk adverse or financially disadvantaged players. Keep in mind that the goal of any casino—including a free play casino—is to make money. For that reason you can expect to be served advertising while you play.
In addition, free play casinos are good for players trying to get comfortable with playing a specific game. More advanced players can also benefit from practice in a free play casino. If you’re trying to learn a new game it’s not a bad idea to do it without money on the line. This way you can bet more confidently if you graduate to a real money casino.
Real Play Unique Benefits
If you have discretionary money and enjoy the risk/reward of casino gaming you’ll want to gravitate toward a real money casino. There you’ll find an extensive variety of casino games including slots, video poker, table games and more. Many online casinos offer easy access to sports betting, horse racing, poker and more.
Not all real money casinos are created equally. If you want to guarantee yourself a quality real money online betting experience stick with the casinos that we recommend for their overall excellence.
Which is Best for You?
This is something you’ll have to decide for yourself. No one understands your financial situation, risk adversity, discipline and money management abilities better than you. The important thing is to be objective in assessing these factors and to select a casino accordingly.
Finding The Best Real Money & Free Play Casinos
No matter what your casino preference you want to find a good one. Here are some guidelines for evaluating both free play and real money casinos.
Finding a free play casino involves many of the same characteristics. You definitely want to find one that has a wide variety of games and particularly games you enjoy. Some free play casinos offer slots only, some offer table games only. You also should seek out a site that is generous with credits and one that doesn’t go overboard on advertising. No one enjoys dealing with endless pop-up ads. Most importantly, since your goal is exclusively entertainment and not financial gain make sure you enjoy the overall experience.
Evaluating a real money casino is a more involved process due to the added component of financial risk. You’re putting actual money into the game so you want to perform your ‘due diligence’. You definitely want to find a real money casino that makes deposits and withdraws simple and convenient. Be wary of any casino that makes it more difficult to cash out than they do to make a deposit. It might not be a bad idea to deposit a small amount and give their withdrawal speed a test before risking a more significant amount.
You definitely want to find a casino with clear contact information including easily accessible customer service. If you can’t find contact information that’s a red flag that you might want to turn your attention elsewhere. Signs that a casino is committed to responsible gambling is also a positive. You should find clear casino rules including minimum age limits. A top notch casino also offers links to websites and other resources for problem gamblers.
Spend some time reading reviews at websites such as ours. It’s important to remember that some sites are basically shills for the casino. If a website doesn’t have a clear criteria that they use to evaluate casinos and evidence that it is applied to the casinos they recommend you might want to look elsewhere.
One good tip is to contact customer service with a question before you register. The question and their answer is less important than their speed of response, knowledge of their product and overall customer care skills. If a casino’s customer service team can’t do a good job with an innocuous question there’s no reason to expect them to do it when there’s an actual problem or dispute.
Conclusion
By now you should have a good idea of which casino is right for you. You should also know how to evaluate both real money casinos as well as free play sites. One thing to keep in mind is that most real money casinos offer a free play option. It’s a good idea to seek out a free play site that would allow you to graduate to real money play if you ever choose to do so.
On the other hand, if you have a gambling problem you should probably avoid even free play casinos. Even without money at risk they could very well serve as a ‘trigger’ that could lead to further trouble.
The big takeaway—have fun, but be informed and ask the right questions before you make a deposit at a real money casino.