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Mobile Online Casinos
Mobile casinos are quickly becoming the preferred choice for gamblers who may not have the time to sit down in front of a computer and play traditional online casino games.
As their name implies, mobile casinos are online casinos which are compatible with mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. While there are a few casinos out there that solely cater to mobile users, almost all are simply extensions of online casinos. In other words, having an online casino account is all you really need—in most cases—to play casino games on your mobile device(s).
A few years ago, the world of mobile casinos in the United States was a confusing one, consisting of only a few sites with varying degrees of quality. Added to this is the fact that some mobile casinos functioned on Android devices, others on Apple devices, and others were compatible with both. Nowadays, mobile casinos are largely able to be used on any and every type of device, including Apple iOS, Android, Windows, Google, and Blackberry.
Types of Mobile Casinos
There are a plethora of mobile casinos out there, and almost none of them are exactly identical. While the casinos themselves are different, there are also different categories of online casinos. Generally speaking, mobile casinos in the United States can either be played via your phone’s web browser or via a downloaded application. Regardless of the mobile casino type, it is almost always true that the most up-to-date version of your preferred flash player must be installed in order for you to play.
Mobile Casinos Played in Browser
When you hear about mobile casinos, often times you will hear them referred to as “mobile casino apps.” Referring to most mobile casinos as apps may feel and sound right, but it is not strictly correct. The reason for this being that a large majority of mobile casinos do not exist on any app market and do not need/are not able to be downloaded to your phone the same way you might download Facebook or Snapchat. Rather, these sites can be accessed by simply navigating to them in your phone’s web browser. In much the same way that some traditional online casino games can be played free of download, so too can most mobile casino games.
Digging deeper, the reason they are often referred to as “apps” is due to their looking and feeling like an app rather than a mere webpage. The software supporting top mobile casinos is such that, upon navigation to the casino site, your mobile browser will often take on the look and feel of a smartphone/tablet app. What’s more, you can typically create a shortcut to your chosen mobile casino and stick it on your device’s home screen. This way, a simple click of the shortcut will take you directly to the casino suite and allow for you to play games without having to go to your browser, type in the casino’s web address, and so on and so forth.
Downloadable Mobile Casino Apps
In some cases, you will find a mobile casino that offers a downloadable application. This is far from the norm in the United States, but in regulated markets such as New Jersey and Nevada it is becoming increasingly commonplace. In terms of these apps, they can be downloaded to your smartphone or tablet 1 of 3 ways.
In many cases with smartphones, a mobile casino application can be downloaded by way of a text message that is sent to your device. Almost always, the text will be accompanied by a link as well as instructions for how to successfully download the app to your phone.
In other instances, an online casino will allow you to download their mobile casino app directly from their site. Whether on your smartphone or tablet, you can navigate to the online casino site and locate a link that will allow you to install the application to your device.
Finally, the 3rd most common method by which you can download a mobile casino app to your phone is by way of a QR code. By logging onto an online casino on your PC or laptop, you can then use your smartphone or tablet to scan a QR code that will ultimately facilitate the installation of the app.
In the United States, text message and QR download options are not very plentiful, however the feeling is that this will change as more jurisdictions warm up to the idea of regulated mobile gambling. Because regulated online casino play exists in a select few jurisdictions in the United States, you will find that regulated US mobile casinos only function within that approved jurisdiction. The utilization of GPS tracking with these sites certifies that you will only be able to place wagers where it is legal to do so.
Las Vegas Mobile Casinos and Apps
You may know that Nevada has a network of legalized and regulated online casinos, but what you may not know is that the only game able to be played for real money is poker. This means that even though you may see casino apps from Las Vegas casinos such as Tropicana (Hollywood) or Caesars, you may not necessarily be able to play real money games through them. With that said, casino apps offered by Las Vegas casinos are not worthless; far from it, in fact. Las Vegas mobile casino apps are great because they offer you the ability to earn real life perks and prizes.
When it comes to the online offerings of places like New York New York and MGM Grand, playing online slot and table games is a way to earn discounted meals, tickets to shows, and other items that are comped for players who are gaming on the physical floor of the casino in question. Without ever having to even travel to Las Vegas, you can earn great perks and prizes from the hotels that exist there. As is always the case, no two Las Vegas casino apps are created equally and, thus, some are objectively better than the others.
Live Dealer Mobile Casinos
Live dealer casinos is a sector of the industry that has been growing exponentially in recent years. In essence, a live dealer casino combines the online casino experience with the one attained on the floor of a brick and mortar casino. With live dealers, real decks, and a 3-dimensional table to play on, the live dealer online casino experience is unlike anything we have ever seen before.
With that said, you might be surprised to know that an increasing number of online casinos are offering live casino games that are also available on your mobile device. It is important to understand that the live dealer experience on a mobile device will be different from what it is on a traditional desktop or laptop. In most cases, the recommended mobile device is a tablet simply because most smartphone screens are smaller, by comparison. What’s more, in order to derive a positive gameplay experience you will find it better to be connected to a Wi-Fi network when attempting to play live dealer games on a mobile device. Of course, this is not mandatory, but if your mobile network is not perfect you may run into some connectivity issues when it comes to live dealer games.
Mobile Casino Game Selection
Put simply, mobile casinos consistently have fewer games than traditional desktop casinos, but there are a few logical reasons why this is so. For one, different online casino games come from different software providers, and even to this day there are a few software providers who have not formatted their games for mobile play. In other instances, you might not find a game on a mobile casino that exists on the desktop site due to its lack of popularity. In other words, if a game is not succeeding on the desktop site, it very well might be excluded from the mobile casino.
Generally speaking, however, the mobile casinos generally regarded as being the best tend to have a diverse, complete selection of games ranging across all categories. Online slot games, table games, video poker, and even specialty games unique to a single casino are on offer at any reputable site.
Mobile Casino Gameplay
Something that is oft-neglected when a person is choosing their preferred mobile casino is the quality of the games on offer. While it is nice to see a mobile site offer a large quantity of games, it does not count for much if the graphics and overall quality of the games is sub-par. In some cases, there will be slight differences between the same games offered on both a traditional desktop and mobile platform. Other times, the games are identical on both platforms. For example, the slot game “A Night with Cleo” is exactly the same on both traditional desktop and mobile platforms. The format of the game, its graphics, and overall functionality are all precisely the same, which lends itself to usability.
At some sites, there will be slight changes to the games between mobile and desktop platforms. Some games are played the same way on both a tablet and a desktop computer, but the formatting of the game’s screen and the graphics may be slightly different.
For most people, this is a non-issue, but it is important to note, especially if you have never played at a mobile casino or are expecting mobile and desktop sites to exactly match. The only way to really ensure that you will approve of the gameplay experience of a mobile casino is to try it out for yourself. Many sites offer a practice version of most games, allowing you to get a feel for a slot or table game before putting any of your own money at risk.
Mobile Casino Banking
Practice games are nice, but ultimately you will want to be playing real money mobile casino games, and that is something only possible once you make a deposit. Despite how it used to be, most mobile casinos facilitate the same exact banking methods that their desktop equivalents do. For US players, this most often means that you are depositing via credit card, ACH, or at the actual casino. Each casino has different options for mobile deposits.