Have you ever considered the pros and cons of online gambling versus casino gambling? There are a lot of differences between the two, and these differences can be a big part of making up your mind on how you want to gamble. They range from how you engage with other people to how you maintain a healthy relationship with gambling. Take a look at our suggestions for the main differences between online and offline gambling so you can decide what you prefer.
Socializing in the real world versus the online community
You might start to miss the real-world casino for that real-world social engagement. Maybe it’s not entirely about gambling for you. Maybe you’re there to share a cheeky smile with a dealer or excitement with other players. Maybe you’re looking to discuss quantum mechanics in between bets. That’s all perfectly valid and a big part of the casino experience. Vegas wouldn’t be Sin City without any sinners to sin with.
But the misconception about online gambling is that it’s a lonely vocation. Sure, you might be physically alone in a room, but it’s alone in the same way MMO online gaming is alone. Depending on the game you’re playing, and how you play it, you could have someone on the other end of an internet connection playing with you.
For example, bingo rooms often come with chatrooms to keep the community spirit of the game, traditional casino games like blackjack and roulette often come with a flexible live dealer platform, so you have a real dealer playing with you, and poker tournaments can stream your players in from their homes for a fully interactive experience.
The idea of casino gambling being a lonely experience, especially online gambling, is quickly going away as technology becomes more advanced, bringing a lot of players closer together.
The travel aspect vs. the atmosphere
The casino makes for a great weekend away or longer. The best ones are usually found in the midst of a resort, where the slot machines are just part of the appeal. They have spas, pools, music venues, restaurants, and more. So, it pays off to put some effort into your gambling trip to make an event of it.
On the other hand, both Las Vegas and Atlantic City are on opposing extremes of the country, and that’s if you’re in the US. The states in between can be hit or miss on whether in-person gambling is legal, and even if it is, there is. We’re a society that is greatly appreciative of our time at home. Why go to the cinema with the talking patrons and mobile phone screens when we have Netflix and comfort? The same argument stands for casinos. It can take a lot of effort to get to a casino, and when you can gamble straight from your nearest device with no fuss, there are reasons not to bother.
The opportunities to go further
There was a time when gambling was an already-rich man’s game. As mentioned, big casinos, the ones hosting all the tournaments, are few and far between. If you’re not a native of Nevada or New Jersey, it might be an effort to get to the casino to play, which means you need some cash in your pocket. This is a consideration for poker players who travel to Las Vegas every year for the latest World Series of Poker event, for example.
Once you got there, however, you could compete with other players for the biggest cash prizes, a trophy in poker in the form of a bracelet, and fame across the casinos.
However, online gambling has made tournaments a lot more accessible. The WSOP, for one thing, offers an online poker tournament that is open to far more people. And they aren’t the only ones. Online casinos are always hosting some new tournament that means bigger and bigger prizes the further you go in the event, and they’re open to anyone with the will to win.
The responsibility of gambling
Everything about casinos, right down to the design of the buildings, is supposed to keep you immersed in the casino experience. Your gambling only really ends when you run out of money. That isn’t the healthiest way to gamble, and online casinos are part of the improvement of responsible gambling. Modern online casinos have tools to be sure that you only gamble as much as you can afford and that you can step away from the casino when you need to.
These tools include Take a Break, time and money limits, self-exclusion, and more. These tools make gambling safer for everyone as you can step away from the casino knowing how long you’ve been on and how much you have been spending.