To gamble in 2020, you can choose two options — physically go to your local land-based casino or access one of many online casinos through your PC or mobile device. Ever since they started expanding at the end of the last century, online casinos have established themselves as arch-nemeses of their land-based counterparts.
Online casinos today host millions of players from around the world, but land-based casinos are still full to the brim. If you’re interested in gambling and can’t decide which type of casino to choose, you’ve landed on the right page.
In this article, we are going to try and answer a three-decade-long question of which casino type is better. Stay tuned!
Atmosphere
If you like the sounds of clicking chips, shouting and cheering coming from a nearby craps table, or a river of coins getting spewed out of a slot machine, then your choice should be obvious.
Land-based casinos have that special atmosphere about them that can never be matched by their online rivals. When playing online, you will most likely be isolated in your room with no people around you. While some prefer that, many like the social aspect of physical casinos.
Advantage — physical casinos
Expenses
How much money you spend while playing casino games depends on what type of player you are and how lucky you get. However, we are not particularly talking about gambling expenses here. Instead, we are referring to the costs of coming to a casino.
When going to a physical casino, you have to count in gas money (or a bus/plane ticket), which can be a serious expense if there are no quality casino rooms nearby. If visiting a land-based casino is a part of your vacation, you also need to pay for a hotel room.
The most convenient way is to stay at a casino hotel, but casino resorts can be very expensive. Moreover, you will have to eat and drink every few hours, so you’re destined to leave some money at the casino’s restaurant, which is also not particularly cheap.
On the other hand, creating an account on an online casino site costs nothing at all. You are already paying for your internet, so there are no additional charges there either. The betting limits on casino sites are usually smaller than in physical casinos, which is an opportunity for people who don’t have money to go to expensive casino resorts.
Advantage — online casinos
Service
If you choose a five-star casino room, there’s no doubt that you will be treated like a king. Physical casinos take good care of their customers, especially those who come in regularly and leave plenty of money at the table. While playing, you will get to order drinks, and there are even some casinos that offer professional massages to players who are in a long poker session.
Online casinos don’t have any service since everything is going on virtually. Again, their main advantage is that they are cheaper, but if you want to have a nice treatment, physical casinos should be your choice.
Advantage — physical casinos
Convenience
One of the main reasons so many people like playing casino games online is that it’s way more convenient. Going to a physical casino requires you to plan a trip and, for some people, that can take up a few days. Many online casino customers are casual players who don’t want to take a whole day off just to do some gambling.
With online casinos, these casual players can log in anytime they want and play a few rounds of their favorite game just for the fun of it. With mobile casinos, the convenience factor has expanded even more. You can access a casino site or an app through your mobile device in seconds. It just takes a few taps on your screen, and you’re already spinning the reels on your favourite video slot.
Advantage — online casinos
Fast Payouts
If you want to collect your winnings immediately, you can only do so in physical casinos. As soon as you collect your chips, you can go to the cashier and turn them into real money. It’s simple and fast.
To be fair, online casinos have improved in this aspect over the years. As a matter of fact, you can find some of the fastest paying casinos in Canada. Payment methods like e-wallets and cryptocurrencies make up for almost instant transactions. However, that still means that you won’t have physical cash in such a short time. Also, online casinos have a habit of imposing a 24-hour pending period on all withdrawal requests. If you try to withdraw your cash through credit cards or bank wires, you could be waiting for more than a few days before the money lands on your account. To find out
Advantage — physical casinos
Bonuses
Casino bonuses are the invention of online casinos and one of the main advantages they have over land-based establishments. Namely, almost every casino site has a welcome bonus reserved for their first-time customers. For example, when you create an account on a given casino site, you will often get extra money for playing. Now, that bonus money can’t be cashed out right away, of course, as you will be forced to play with it for a certain period, but it’s still a chance to win some money using funds that you got for free.
Of course, welcome bonuses are just one type of online casino bonuses. There are plenty of weekly and monthly promotions, as well as loyalty programs that reward players gradually for making progress on the website.
Physical casinos still haven’t mastered this system. There are a few casinos that offer some kind of promotions like store discounts and other things, but you won’t get any extra money for playing. The chips that you pay for are the only chips you get.
Advantage — online casinos
Legality
When playing in a popular land-based casino, you can be confident that you are within legal boundaries. States and countries where gambling is illegal won’t have any casinos at all, so there’s no worrying about breaking the law.
While the majority of online casinos are allowed to operate legally, that still doesn’t mean it is legal for you to play there. Many casino sites accept players from regions where gambling is illegal, leaving players with the responsibility to get familiar with their own gambling laws.
Not many people have been arrested for enjoying online casinos, but it’s still a bit unsafe if you are not sure whether gambling is legal in your country or not.
Advantage — physical casinos
Conclusion
So, there you have it, casino enthusiasts. Both online and physical casinos have their advantages and disadvantages, so there’s really no correct answer as to which ones are better. We hope that you will study the information given in this article and that you will make the right decision for yourself. No matter which of the two you choose, we wish you good luck!
