Main Differences Between an Online and Live Casino
There are few pastimes as pleasurable as heading to a live casino and playing your favourite games. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic put a spanner in the works in that respect, leaving many of us to play at an online casino instead.
Both online and live casinos have similarities and differences to be aware of.
You Have More Choice Online Compared To A Live Casino
Online casinos have a distinct advantage over their live casino counterparts when it comes to player choice. Virtual casinos don’t have to worry about floor space for their pokies and table games, only space on their servers. Live casinos have limited space for their gaming products so have to be selective when it comes to machines and tables.
It isn’t uncommon to find online casinos with several hundred pokies at your fingertips. Ozwin Casino, for example, has more than 200 pokies. Pokies Parlour has more than 2,100 different pokies. You don’t get this much choice at any live casino.
RTP Rates Are Higher Online That At A Live Casino
Overheads are far smaller for online casinos than at a live casino. Online operators have significant electricity costs for their servers, but they’re still not as high as a live casino. Likewise, online casinos have less staff to pay, lower rents, and no maintenance costs.
Lower costs mean less money eating into an online casino’s profits. This fact alone means they can afford to let the player win more from pokies and table games. The difference in a pokie’s RTP (Return to Player) may only be 1-1.5%, which seems insignificant, but it makes a huge difference to your win-rate over the long term.
The same is true of table games like roulette and blackjack. There isn’t much scope to change the odds in these games, but the payouts differ. Blackjack, for example, always pays out 3-to-2 online but sometimes 6-to-5 in a live casino.
Online casinos are cheaper to run and operators pass those savings onto the customer.
Casino Games Play Faster Online
The pace of pokies and casino games is much faster online than in a live casino. It should be quite obvious why this is the case, especially with table games.
Online pokies’ rounds are quicker than their live counterpart. A live casino is bound by rules and regulations when it comes to time to spin etc.
Table games run much, much faster online than in a brick-and-mortar equivalent. There is no waiting for players to look at their cards, or physically bet their chips.
Don’t worry about the faster online pace, however. You can take as much time as you wish.
Online Casinos Permit Smaller Bets
Every casino, whether online or live, has a minimum and maximum bet sizes. These are larger in a live casino for some of the reasons mentioned above. Live casinos have larger overheads so try maximising their potential profits. They do this by forcing customers to bet larger.
An online casino doesn’t have this issue, which means they can afford to allow smaller bets. Pokies with $0.01-$0.10 minimum bets are common online but almost unheard of live. The same is true of table games. A live casino offering roulette may place a $5 or $10 minimum bet on red or black. That same bet online can be as low as $0.50.
This makes online casinos more attractive to players with a smaller bankroll or who are more risk-averse.
Everyone has their own preference when it comes to playing at a casino. Just do what makes you happy, do it responsibly, and make sure you have fun while doing it.
