The unstoppable march of time forces the evolution and adaptation of every organism within its system to ensure its survival over time. Casinos are no exception to this lofty rule. From the simple games played by Ancient Egyptians to the glamorous casinos of today, gambling has continued to evolve alongside the people that partake in it. Even within the past fifty years there has been a considerable expectation as to what one will find at a casino. You won’t see classy, impeccably dressed, and slightly drunk musicians being served by waitresses in short skirts anymore. Reason being that times have moved on and the Internet has completely disrupted this industry on a number of levels.
No doubt you’ve played at, or at least heard of, mobile casinos. In spite of the fact that mobile phone technology is barely a decade old, the proliferation and adoption of mobile casinos has happened seemingly overnight. Open up any mobile casino and you’ll be bombarded with messages such as “mobile casino free bonus!”, “no deposit mobile casino!”, “mobile casino no deposit required!” – all of these breathless taglines can seem overwhelming, especially if you don’t know what they mean. But while mobile casinos do indeed offer you the ability to gamble anywhere you want at any time, there are several factors you should look for before making the decision to commit to one. This guide aims to help you with that process and ensure that you pick the mobile casino that is right for you.
Mobile casino bonuses
As is the case with any casino, mobile casino or not, you want to make sure that the casino you decide to play at gives you the most value for your money while still providing a strong selection of titles. First and foremost, check to see what kinds of bonuses mobile casino apps are offering you. Some of these bonuses are called “no deposit bonuses”. A no deposit mobile casino bonus is one that doesn’t require you to put any money down before receiving it. Mobile casinos that offer no deposit bonuses typically offer a small amount of cash and/or free plays, giving you the opportunity to try out their selection of games and titles before you commit funds. Just keep an eye on the wagering requirements and stipulations that come attached to these bonuses. Of course, also check to see what kinds of loyalty bonuses are offered to returning members. Mobile casinos that don’t offer anything to loyal members probably won’t do much to try and retain your business.
Mobile casino compatibility
Another point to consider is the performance of the casino on your mobile device. Assuming you don’t have a first-generation iPhone from 2007, most mobile casino games should not struggle to run on your mobile device. Depending on how their website and games are optimized, as well as the type of code they use (i.e Flash vs. HTML5) will have a significant impact on how smoothly their mobile casino games run. Also check to see what the graphics requirements look like – 3D games packed with visual effects will take up a lot more processing power than a simple 2D Flash game. A well-designed mobile casino will have been specifically engineered to run on a variety of platforms. Mobile casino applications that are condensed into small .IPA or .APK files will force your device to take on most of the processing burden, taxing your system further.
Software and games
Now what kind of mobile casino doesn’t boast a strong game selection? All of the aforementioned points are important, but a mobile casino lacking in a decent game selection will never amount to anything if it doesn’t carry a variety of quality games spanning multiple genres. Mobile casino games generally don’t differ too much from their PC counterparts, save for possessing an interface specifically optimised for the mobile device experience.
Now it would be wise to temper your expectations as to what mobile casinos have to offer offer. Given the current limitations of the format, the game selection at even the best mobile casinos pales in comparison to the many hundreds of titles offered at a standard online casino. That said, a quality mobile casino will still offer at least a hundred unique titles spanning multiple genres. In addition, the titles should be on par with the quality of games offered on the PC. The best mobile casinos will even offer live casino games. Whichever mobile casino you decide to go with, just make sure not to settle for anything second-rate.
Mobile casino security
Last but not least, check to see what security protocols are followed. As is true with anything on the Internet, there are always people looking to steal your personal information. This is an especially realistic threat for any part of the Internet where financial information is stored. Naturally, mobile casinos are a frequent target of hackers and data thieves, and you need to make sure that your chosen mobile casino maintains industry-standard protection against such thieves. SSL encryption is considered to be an industry standard, with Digicert 2048 bit SSL encryption technology being the top-of-the-line option.
Of course, you must consider yourself and your device when you play. Not all mobile casinos play nice across all platforms, and your mobile casino of choice may have been optimised to run on an Android platform when you are trying to get it to run on an iOS device. That internal architecture of these platforms differs quite significantly, and any mobile casino designed for either platform is going to look quite different from each other. As of 2016, the standards that a mobile casino has to follow are ill defined and tend to be more vague than anything. Tablets and mobile phones run mobile casinos very differently, yet many developers don’t take much care to distinguish the function and processing capacity of the two.
If your device is more than a few years old, you should seriously consider upgrading to a newer model – Moore’s law applies very strongly here, and the requirements needed to properly run a mobile casino are considerably higher than what was necessary even just five years ago. If you have a 3G device, consider upgrading to one that supports 4G technology. This will ensure that you get the best experience possible, as 3G is increasingly considered to be outdated, to the point that mobile casinos aren’t developing their platforms with 3G in mind anymore. If you are unsure as to how well a mobile casino will run on your phone, read up on the documented system requirements. Barring that, you might want to give it a trial run of your own – your mobile casino free bonus can be used for that.
The fundamental nature of gambling and the casinos that offer it have not changed immeasurably in the many thousands of years that such attractions have existed. Yet, the format and structure of these games and casinos have transformed to the point that one would be hard-pressed to recognize some of the familiar offerings that are staples across the world. Casinos quickly adapts to the new trends and technology that constantly changes what it means to be a casino, and the introduction of mobile casino apps have proven to be one of the most transformative. While traditional players may resist these changes, the exploding popularity of mobile casinos means that they are here to stay. Give mobile casinos a chance – you will quickly come to see why they have become so popular so fast.