10 Secrets Casinos Are Happy to Share
Casinos, both online and offline, are often seen as glamorous places where fortunes are won and lost, and they also form the backdrop to many a tense movie scene or TV plot twist. With all of this exposure, you’d think that there was nothing left to reveal, yet there are still plenty of things that casinos are happy for everyone to know that just seem to go under the radar.
The fact is that while these secrets are there for everyone to see, they are often overlooked by players who just want to get started or think that what they are seeing might be too good to be true. To clear up some of that confusion, here are some things that you can find out easily with a quick look ‘behind the scenes’ at many of the world’s biggest and best offline and online casinos.
#1 Online slots are not really slots
Slots, as you might already know, are so called because of the slots that players put the coins into but, as this is impossible to do online, the name doesn’t fit anymore. However, as that is a name people have used for years, the name has stuck as things have moved online, even though it all happens now by tapping your phone screen or clicking a mouse to spin those reels.
The same applies around the world. For instance, in the UK, slots are better known as fruit machines because those were the symbols originally on the reels, and are still called that these days, even though other symbols are found on slots both online and offline. Slots are also known as ‘pokies’ in NZ and Australia as an abbreviation of ‘poker machine’ which gradually got carried over to mean all games like that.
#2 Slots will tell you how much you are going to win
Slots are the most popular game at online casinos, and this is mostly because they have the most potential to offer value for money to players. Slots typically have lower minimum stakes than table games like roulette or blackjack so those on smaller budgets can get more bang for their buck.
The other factor is that slots typically have high RTP (return to player) percentages, often over 95%. For anyone who happens to be curious, the best online casinos will have the RTP figures displayed on their website somewhere, so people can see which slots offer the best returns. If you do go looking, however, please remember that this RTP figure is worked out over a long period to allow for the normal variations in gameplay.
#3 You can play slots and table games for free
Online casinos are full of games of all descriptions, some of which the man in the street will never have heard of. For instance, Sic Bo is a mainstay of many online casinos, but most people don’t understand this game or know how to play it. Slots also have many features that go unclaimed because players don’t know how to activate them and could be just wasting funds.
The thing is, many online casino games have a demo mode, where you can see what happens and play for a while without using your own money until you are confident you know what you are doing. This is something casinos are happy to publicize but is often overlooked by those players who just want to get started. One final thing to note here though is that there is no demo mode for the live dealer games, for obvious reasons.
#4 Sometimes’ live dealers’ are actually direct from real casinos
The ‘live dealer’ options are favorites among players who are looking for a more authentic experience because instead of playing against an AI and a random number generator deciding which card gets turned over next, or where the roulette ball will land, the events they are watching are happening for real over a live feed.
In some cases, especially where the online casino is affiliated with a land-based casino, the live dealers and croupiers are the same ones you might see on the casino floor, just doing their shift behind the scenes, instead of in front of the public. This ‘real world’ experience can add an extra element to the experience compared to some other dealers that are just going through the motions.
#5 Roulette isn’t really the devil’s game
There is a popular story that the inventor of roulette sold his soul to the devil to learn the secrets of the game. While this might sound a bit far fetched, the fact that all the numbers on the roulette wheel added up to 666 is often quoted as proof, which, as most people will know, is known as the ‘number of the beast’.
However, the truth of the matter is that roulette itself, or at least the concept is no secret invention, diabolic or otherwise, and similar games were played in ancient China as well as by the Romans, who played a makeshift version using a captured shield.
#6 Casinos are a man’s world
Most online gamblers, and certainly many of those offline, are men, with a roughly 80/20 split being the case at most online establishments. This figure is pretty constant as you move around the globe, and that is not the only interesting part. The average male gambler is likely to spend 4 times as much as their female counterparts, but there is another key stat too.
Proportionally speaking, fewer women worldwide tend to be classed as having a gambling problem compared to men, except in Sweden, where the situation is reversed, where almost two-thirds of those ‘addicted’ to gambling are female.
#7 Internet casinos have been around almost as long as the internet
While online casinos have really come into their own in the last few years, they have been around for much longer than you might think. The internet was still in its infancy back in 1994 when Microgaming (who incidentally still does the same thing today) developed the software for the first online casino.
It should also be noted that online casino software was also available for Nokia phones in the early 2000s, many years before Android and Apple phone phones had apps available for the many hundreds of casinos online.
#8 Security is a priority
You’ve probably seen on TV programs and in movies that every move that gets made in a casino is watched on CCTV to keep everyone safe and spot people trying to get an unfair advantage in what they are doing. What casinos also want you to know, though, is that online, it’s your safety that is a priority too.
In an industry where customer confidence is just about everything, casinos want you to know that they will protect your account with SSL encryption and by verifying the player is who they say they are. They will also check using social security numbers that players are over the legal age for gambling wherever they happen to be in the world.
#9 Casinos are open 24/7
It’s no secret that both online and offline casinos want you to play for as long as you are happy to, and to facilitate this, many are open 24 hours a day. This is a new development for some land-based establishments that had to close due to the pandemic, but online casinos are always open 24/7.
Some of the services may vary at times, though, like the number of live dealer games available or one-to-one customer service, but all of the AI-controlled games are accessible whether you want to play at 2 o’clock in the afternoon or 2 o’clock in the morning.
#10 Regular players are rewarded for their loyalty
You may have seen that many land-based casinos have extra benefits for those that visit regularly and benefits like free food for those who are playing their games, but these added extras extend online as well. Many online casinos have loyalty programs that offer rewards to players who come back for more.
Players gain points as they play real money games, and these can be cashed in for rewards like free spins and wagers or even gifts like branded swag or day trips to special events. In some cases, both land-based and online casinos combine when online casino points can be cashed in for discounted stays or upgrades for players visiting the ‘real world’ version of their preferred gambling brand.
To wrap things up
Contrary to what many people think, casinos aren’t necessarily places where facts are guarded, and everything the player needs to know is kept under wraps. The casino industry, both online and offline, is dependent on customer confidence, and much of this is achieved by making things like the RTP (return to player) percentages of their games public.
They are keen for players to know that online casinos take account security and the exclusion of minors and people from excluded territories very seriously. When you add into this the fact that 24/7 opening means you can play when you want, you can see why online casinos are happy for everyone to know as much as possible about what they do.
