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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.

Reliability and trust issues are commonplace and often questioned. Many online casinos lease or purchase their software from well-known companies like Microgaming, Realtime Gaming, Playtech, and CryptoLogic Inc in an attempt to "piggyback" their reputation on the software manufacturer's credibility. These software companies either use or claim to use random number generators to ensure that the numbers, cards or dice appear randomly.

Online casino types

Online casinos can be divided into two groups based on their interface: web-based and download-only casinos. Some casinos offer both interfaces.

Some casinos offer 'Live gaming', either exclusively, or as part of a wider online casino offering. Live casinos may be web or download based. In live online casinos, popular casino games such as roulette and blackjack are dealt by real dealers in casino studios, in an attempt to convey more of the atmosphere of a physical casino. Player actions (including chat) such as 'hit' in the game of blackjack may be transmitted to the dealer; in some online casinos more than one player may 'sit' at a particular 'seat' on the table, and in this case there is no interactivity between player and dealer, the question of which player(s) requested the extra card that the dealer dealt and which chose to 'stand' will be handled by the software. It is usual for players to be able to observe a video feed of the action, and equally common for players to opt to turn it off, if they lack the bandwidth - as the cards are read by OCR and other technology, the video feed is only ever a visual cue.

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. As with any download from the Internet, the risk of the program containing malware does exist.

Games offered

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

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

Bonuses

Many online casinos offer signup bonuses to new players making their first deposit, and often on subsequent play as well. These bonuses are a form of marketing that may incur a cost (potentially justifiable in order to attract a new player who may return and deposit many more times), since the casino is essentially giving away money, in return for a commitment from the player to wager a certain minimum amount, usually a multiple of the deposit and/or bonus credited to the player's account. Since all casino games have a house edge, the wagering requirements ensure that the player cannot simply walk away with the casino's money, and indeed if the wagering requirements are sufficiently high, he may in fact have a negative expectation, exactly as if he had deposited without any bonus.

Casinos may choose to restrict certain games from fulfilling the wagering requirements, either to restrict players from playing low-edge games, or to restrict 'risk-free' play (betting for instance both red and black on roulette, thereby completing the wagering requirement with a guaranteed profit, after the bonus is taken into account.

Non-cashable bonuses

Non-cashable bonuses may be called "sticky" or "phantom" bonuses". In both cases, the bonus forms a part of the player's balance, but cannot be cashed out. The difference comes at cashout time. A phantom bonus disappears when the player cashes out, while the sticky bonus 'sticks' to the player's account until it is lost.

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.

Bonus hunting

Bonus hunting (also known as bonus bagging or bonus whoring) is a type of advantage gambling where turning a profit from casino, sportsbook and poker room bonus situations is mathematically possible. For example, the house edge in blackjack is roughly 0.5%. In the example above, $5000 in wagering with a house edge of 0.5% will result in an expected loss of $25. Since the player received a $100 signup bonus, after subtracting the expected loss of $25, the player has an expected gain of $75.

Bonus disputes

A large portion of online casino disputes relate to bonuses. Casinos may label players who win using bonuses as "bonus abusers." Both players and casinos may commit fraud. An example of player fraud is creating multiple accounts and using the accounts to claim a sign-up bonus several times. An example of casino fraud is changing terms of a bonus after a player has completed the wagering requirements, then requiring the player to meet the new bonus terms.

Fraudulent online casino operator behavior

Fraudulent behavior on the part of online casinos has been documented. The most commonly reported behaviors are refusal to pay withdrawals or cheating software with rigged payouts. An online casino with multiple confirmed cases of fraudulent behavior is often called a rogue casino by the online casino player community.

One commonly reported behavior related to refusal to pay withdrawals is the refusal to pay withdrawals promptly. A rogue casino may intentionally delay a withdrawal in hopes that the player will continue gambling with the money in the account and lose it all back. Other rogue online casinos attempt to not pay their customers by retroactively applying unfair terms to their house rules.

Cheating software appears to be less common than payout problems.

Some casino software has been mathematically proven to cheat, such as Elka System/Oyster Gaming and Casino Bar. Screen shots from the back office of an older brand of software indicated the odds could be adjusted by the operator.

Many casino gambling portals and player forums maintain blacklists of rogue casinos. While some carry more authority than others, most blacklists constitute individual webmaster and player opinions rather than anything official from any type of regulating body.

Legality

See online gambling for a discussion of the legality of playing at an online casino.

See also

• Comps (casino)
• Problem gambling
• eCOGRA (e-Commerce Online Gambling Regulation and Assurance) a non-profit industry regulatory body

Notes

1. [http://wizardofodds.com/askthewizard/66 WizardOfOdds.com Ask The Wizard May 8, 2002
2. Wizard of Odds.com glossary See "sticky bonus" and "phantom bonus"
3. eCOGRA Casino Dispute Report
4. ^ Casinomeister's Rogue Pit
5. Casinobar evidence by Michael Shackleford
6. WizardsofOdds.com: Blacklist

External links

• Template:Dmoz

• Casinos
• Electronic commerce