There are four main reasons you’d want to try online casinos instead of a traditional brick-and-mortar casino. Many of these reasons center around practical factors like cost and convenience; and for the sake of this article, we’re going to look closely at what online casinos have to offer.
#Costs
Online gambling is far cheaper than spending money in an actual casino – this is true even if you’re doing your best to keep costs low. Consider a modest budget for a one-week trip to Las Vegas, coming from a random place like Portland, Oregon:
- Over $400 for two round trip tickets
- $100 1 week airport parking
- $300 1 week rental car
- $100 (or more) per night for a room
- $700 for food
- $500 for gambling
- Extra $500 for tickets to side shows
- $100 for a pet sitter for 1 week
There are probably many other things I’m leaving out, but from this list you get the idea that it costs far more to travel to any major city to play at a casino. You can save some money by finding a timeshare but even then, the entire cost will run into the thousands just to spend a few hours a day in a nice casino.
How do these costs compare with online casinos?
- Your internet plan should already be divided amongst other online activities
- Computer – you already have this
- Gambling money – this is entirely up to you, as there are options
The real cost in online gambling is your gambling bankroll. Whatever amount you have, there is likely to be a game you can afford. Keep in mind that some of the games you play for $4 or $5 at a real casino cost $1 online, and sometimes less. So assuming you only need gambling money (after registration) to play at online casinos, then we can save around $2,000 and still have a few hundred dollars to gamble.
#Convenience
Now that we have a clear picture of the costs involved, let’s see about convenience. Travelling out of state to a casino is hardly convenient. For starters, you are not in your own home, and you left the car at home or at the airport. Moving forward, you have to make due with whatever you packed in your luggage. It takes some time before you figure out where to eat, how much you can save, how to operate efficiently without a kitchen, etc.
Picky eaters often find travelling more challenging. So here is what you avoid when you play at an online casino:
- Packing for a trip (so exhausting)
- Waking up early for a flight
- Riding a shuttle with strangers
- Being poked and prodded by the TSA
Compare that with the convenience of opening your computer, logging into the casino software, and experiencing some of your best games in quite realistic graphics. You can roll out of bed and play casino games without the hassle that comes with visiting one.
#Variety
It’s true a brick-and-mortar casino offers plenty of options. But if you’ve checked any of the latest casino websites you will see a variety of games and there is no ceiling to how many more games they can offer. Traditional casinos only offer as many games as they can fit into the place, and remember, they still have to leave space for restaurants, hotel rooms, bathrooms, and all other things you find in a casino. The difference with casino software is that it allows many more features in the games, and no matter how many players are active, you won’t find your favorite games are crowded. So the main benefits here are:
- You will find every slot, table game, video poker, or other game variation you want
- You can play any game no matter how many people are logged in
- Most casinos feature the games that are popular at the time, but online casinos have more variety
- Dozens of game variations for popular games like slots, poker, bingo, arcade games, blackjack, table games, etc.
#Promotions
Offline casinos run many promotions to keep the clientele preoccupied, but they don’t come near online casinos. The most common promotion in land-based casinos is a ‘players card’, which allows players to earn points for every game they play, and later exchange the points for a free meal, or tickets to a show. Compare this with online casino promotions which include things like:
- Deposit bonus: This is a match offer where the casino matches your deposit up to a specific amount in dollars. So if you deposited $100 to gamble, the casino doubles it, giving you many options to play and earn money.
- Reload bonuses: Similar to deposit bonus, but for existing customers only.
- Free cash: Online casinos usually give small offers in cash, but with some requirements. Sometimes they ask you to create an account, or deposit funds into your account to activate; after which they might give you $10 to play with.
- Cash back: Real money games allow players to earn points and then exchange them for cash.
Online casinos offer many more features for players with money to spend, and we haven’t even covered sportsbooks, poker rooms, or bingo halls. And some of these perks are offered to you BEFORE you actually spend money; so by comparison, land-based casinos are lame.
