Betting is as old as our culture itself. Since time immemorial, people have always been attracted to puzzles and mysteries, and have loved guessing the outcome of random events. Earlier, coins were used for the purpose and then came dices and wheels, followed by the discovery of cards. No matter what time in history it is, the love and craze for gambling and betting and getting into exciting situations has never changed.

In present times with the advent of the internet, when everything is happening online, online casinos have also become very popular. Casinos that are found online are also known as internet casinos or virtual casinos. It has become an industry in itself, and is a source of entertainment and lots of fun. A lot of people are excited about these kinds of casinos as they don’t need to go out in public and bet. And as the technology progresses, the software will become better and safer, providing a more realistic experience.

In most of the US, UK and European online casinos, fairness and security are given high priority. The prize money that a person wins is paid through whatever pay out method they choose, and it takes up to two weeks for the payment to be transferred to their credit card. But if someone wants cash then it might take up to a month and even longer if it is to be paid from some other country.

There are different types of casinos, such as bingo casinos, sports casinos, poker casinos and many more. People also get sign-up bonuses once they sign up with an internet-based gambling site to start playing and betting. Assuming that an online casino uses an appropriately programmed random number generator, blackjack and other such table games have earned an edge over the other games. Questions have always been raised about how fair they are and how trustworthy they are. To answer these kinds of questions, many casinos purchase their gaming software from big software companies like Playtech, Microgaming, Cryptlogic Inc. etc. to ensure a reliable technological back up.

Many casinos offer multiple interfaces and can be categorised into three groups according to their interface. We can term the first one the web-based online casino where the player can play these casino games in Macromedia Flash, Shockwave or Java without downloading them to their computer. The second one is the download-based casino, where software is required to be downloaded in order to wager and play the online game. These are generally are faster than the web based casinos. The download-based casino also carries a risk of viruses from the internet. And the last one is the live casino, which provides the players an experience similar to the one you would find in a typical casino in the real world. They can hear, see and interact with the live dealers at the tables of the casinos worldwide.

Many online casinos offer players the opportunity to first try their hand with virtual money. They also advise their players to read the rules and policies carefully before they start playing. Though online gambling is fun it is also addictive – and it is always advised to exercise caution while playing.

By Vickram Chandrer
Vickram Chandrer is an online betting writer specialising in online casinos.