Land based or online: Which are the most thrilling? Which are the most convenient? Which type maximises my chances of winning?

The experiences in playing in online casinos or in real ones are entirely different, and perhaps the two are not really comparable. People often use the expression that ‘it is like comparing apples and oranges’ as a metaphor to suggest that an attempt is being made to compare entirely different things as though they were the same, but ultimately apples and oranges are both fruit just as online and real casinos are, well, casinos.

Of course, in the olden days we didn’t have the option. It was real casinos or nothing, and we had to dress smartly in order to gamble. Of course nowadays real casinos are not as bothered as they used to be about how we dress; most of them allow casual attire. But with online casinos we can play in the nude if that is what we wish to do (says he balancing his laptop on the edge of the bath).

Over recent times online casinos have evolved along with the rest of the internet and nowadays they offer a sophisticated playing environment that is streets ahead of the early clunky unreliable software which at one time, (and as my old English teacher would say when attempting to teach us not to terminate a sentence with a preposition), up with which we had to put.

The experience of playing online is of course entirely different from strolling down The Strip at Las Vegas and popping into Bellagio to play a few slots, a few hands of baccarat and a little roulette, but if it is the games you enjoy rather than the ambience and sense of occasion, then online is fine too.

Ultimately it is horses for courses (he says attempting to squeeze one final cliché into the discussion). One advantage of playing online is that one gets an opportunity to make mistakes in private and not suffer from the embarrassment and humiliation of making them in public; it is a good way of climbing the learning curve.

If you simply want to maximise your winnings, then online is probably best; there are fewer distractions. If you want to maximise your fun, then it is Bellagio any time.

By Brian Young
Both casinos and online casinos have their advantages for players. The atmosphere of a casino is the main attraction for players, whereas online casinos are popular as they are convenient.