My friend Cody loves to gamble. He’s at the casinos at least twice a month, and really enjoys his time there. He loves the shows, the food, the comps and the service—but it’s the action he really craves.
While Cody dabbles with the slot machines, the table games really get his blood pumping.
When the casinos closed because of the pandemic, Cody’s business didn’t. He worked twice as hard, and got stressed without his casino getaways. He had no way to blow off steam.
So I suggested he try online gambling. Cody scoffed at the idea. At an online casino, he said, he couldn’t look his dealer in the eyes. He couldn’t touch the cards, the chips or the dice. He wasn’t able to see what was really happening. And he was convinced that online casinos were rigged, to guarantee that he would lose. So I gave him the scoop.
Online casinos in the U.S. are highly regulated. They would never risk losing their valuable licenses to beat the players with some bogus program. In fact, all the platforms and systems used by online casinos have been tested by independent labs to verify that they are fair and transparent.
So there is virtually no chance that you’ll be a victim of a scam, unless you’re playing in an illegal online casino, which has no oversight from regulators.
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Better Odds Online
Cody scoffed again. He said the online odds would be worse. Again, it’s just the opposite. You get better odds playing online, because there’s less overhead than casinos have in their physical properties, and no upkeep beyond the technical things. There is less payroll, since there are far fewer employees.
In fact, in an online casino, you can actually tell what a game will pay back to players. It’s called “return to player” (RTP), and in most slot games, you can click to see the specific payback percentage. Online, this is much higher than in a physical game because, again, the online casino doesn’t have the same overhead.
Because Cody likes table games, I challenged him to check out the rules of the online varieties. Cody’s a big blackjack player and understands that the new trend of paying 6-5 for betting blackjack is a terrible thing for players. But online, you very rarely see 6-5 payouts, it’s all 3-2. And you can find games where the dealers stand on all 17s, another player advantage. You can also find low-limit games, as low as $1 a hand. Try to find that in a real-life casino.
As for looking into the eyes of the dealer, online casinos have that covered as well. They have “live” dealers—actual people dealing the cards, spinning the wheel and paying the bets. In an online table game, Cody could feel like he was at a real casino, chatting with the dealer and other players.
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Bonuses & Promotions
Then I showed Cody what online casinos and sportsbooks will offer him just for signing up. As a new player, Cody can get his initial deposit matched by some online casinos and sportsbooks up to $1,000. Of course, you have to read the fine print to understand the details of these offers, but it’s still found money.
Moreover, most sportsbooks offer new bonuses and promotions on a regular basis, almost certainly surrounding the big events like the Super Bowl, the Masters Tournament or the World Series.
I explained to Cody that he can even earn comps at his favorite physical casinos by playing at the online version. For example, if he plays at any of the Caesars-branded casinos or sportsbooks, he can earn points toward his Caesars Rewards accounts, which he can then redeem in person. This is also true for BetMGM, Borgata and all other sites under the MGM umbrella.
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Super-Convenient
As I mentioned, Cody’s job is highly stressful. When he hits the casinos, he reserves about four days out of his busy schedule. But with online gaming, he can unwind at night and be ready for his job the next day. Cody can register, deposit money and collect winnings all online, while accruing points toward his players account at the same time.
And when he’s betting on sports, he can do so from the comfort of his own home. Live “in-play” sports wagering makes every contest more exciting. The odds fluctuate throughout that game, testing Cody’s strategy and skills. He likes those kinds of challenges.
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Safer Gambling
Some people get solicitations from online gaming sites that are not legal in the United States. Gambling with offshore, illegal casinos and sportsbooks is a crap shoot—and I don’t mean the game. These sites can cancel a winning bet at any time, claiming a software error or something else you personally cannot verify. Or they could simply seize your money and refuse to return it. These sites are not governed by a respected regulatory agency, so there would be no way to stop them.
Cody doesn’t have a problem with gambling. He only gambles what he can afford, and only when he has time. But some people have difficulty controlling themselves—and here’s another way online gambling is better. Some casinos allow you to set limits on what you can gamble and how long you can gamble. Some of those limits are voluntary, and others can be shut down at a certain level.
Also, since online gaming tracks every bet and transaction, you can be sure that all disputes on wagering, depositing or withdrawing will be addressed fairly and honestly, if not by the casino you’re dealing with, certainly by the regulatory agency.
As you can imagine, Cody saw the light. Today, he’s enjoying online gaming as well as his bi-monthly getaways to casino destinations. He’s got the best of both worlds.
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