On paper, mobile casinos, and mobile gambling in general, sound like the best idea ever! I mean, the premise of online casino is that you’re no longer restricted to just one location when you want to get some gambling done, you can do it wherever you want, whenever you want! Unfortunately, the reality isn’t quite the same as the fantasy that advertisements are selling (in fairness, it never is), and while it’s true that you can play whenever you want, the “wherever” part should be rephrased to “wherever there’s a computer”, which kind of limits your options. If you want to play a slot or a hand of blackjack for real money while waiting for the bus, well, too bad, you’re all out of luck! However, with the advent of mobile casinos, suddenly the original promise is starting to ring more true! I mean, you’re carrying around a phone with you at all times anyway, and many of us are carrying tablets, too. I know I’m definitely lost without my Android (gotta check my myriad of idle games every 5 minutes, after all), and I do admit that I’ve sometimes indulged in a little public gambling. Why not more, you ask? Well, as awesome of a concept as mobile casino is, in reality it’s plagued by several really serious problems whose elimination will vastly improve the overall mobile gambling experience. Problems like:

1. The Games Are Too Data-Intensive

The thing is, mobile gambling requires a constant Internet connection, which you can obtain in one of two ways. You can connect to Wi-Fi, which, once again, restricts where you can be in order to play (and unless you’re planning on gambling at a café or whatever, most places with wi-fi, such as your home, already have a computer). The infinitely better option involves having a data plan for your phone and tablet. That allows you to access the Internet literally anywhere you can get cell reception, which means that the promise of being able to play casino games wherever you want is finally fulfilled! The only problem is that data plans often tend to be very limited – I, for example, only get 8 GBs of bandwith, and once that’s done, that’s it. And sure, 8 GBs is a whole ton when I’m just playing my mobile games which are already downloaded on my hard drive and only send a miniscule amount of information back and forth, but it’s NOTHING when you’re doing stuff like streaming. For example, if I was watching HD video on Netflix, I’d burn through those 8 GB in an hour or two because I’m downloading a whole bunch of data in a really short amount of time. Online casino games, which are similarly streamed, share a similar problem. I am specifically talking about Android here – on Apple products, you can download the bigger files once and keep them stored on your phone or tablet, thus limiting data usage, but on Android every single time you open up a casino, you download its files. Then you download the files of every single slot you want to play. And then, the next day, you download all of those files AGAIN. That annihilates your data plan! There needs to be a better solution to this, especially for Android users!

2. There’s A Significant Lack of Choice

In online casinos, you’ve got literally hundreds upon hundreds of games to choose from! Slots, blackjack, roulette, live games, scratch cards, baccarat, you name it, it’s all there! Mobile casinos, on the other hand, are a bit more limited… And by a bit, I mean a lot. Even the best online casinos in the UK are providing maybe about 5-10% of their games to mobile customers. And don’t get me wrong, I know exactly why that’s happening – mobile gaming runs on a different platform than online gaming, which means that ANY casino game needs to be completely rebuilt from scratch for both mobile and PC. Games with bigger budgets get mobile ports, the rest remain PC only, and there’s nothing that can be done about that… Which sucks because many of the games that would be PERFECT for mobile (such as scratch tickets) are mostly unavailable! And the worst part is that there’s nothing anyone can do about it because it’s kind of a closed loop. Not a lot of people play mobile casino because there’s not a lot of games on it, but developers don’t develop more games for it because not a lot of people play mobile casino, and not a lot of people play it because there’s not a lot of games on it, rinse and repeat. Not to mention, there’s an even bigger problem…

3. Mobile Casino Hasn’t Evolved Since Its Inception

Online casino is constantly evolving and introducing new features, games and opportunities. Sure, the features don’t always seem obvious immediately, especially to more casual players, but they’re certainly there. Sometimes it’s more obvious features, such as the addition of more games or new options, while other times it’s more under the hood stuff that’s not noticed (like the transition from Flash to HTML5 a few years ago). Mobile casino, on the other hand, hasn’t really changed at all in any meaningful way, and that’s a problem. You’d think that big casino companies would be all over this brand new business model, trying to promote it as the premiere way to play online casino games, but alas – today, the existence of a mobile casino seems to be nothing more than a footnote in an online casino’s history. “Oh, I can play on mobile with the same account? That’s cool, I guess” is what most players think, which is kind of dumb considering just how amazing mobile casino is. We need innovations! We need stuff that can only be done on mobile! We need developers willing to take a big financial risk and seriously push mobile as the best platform available for games such as slots, blackjack and roulette. If that doesn’t happen, though, I’m afraid that mobile casino will simply join the pile of things that had huge potential, but ultimately failed to deliver.

As a huge fan of online casinos, I am often asked by friends which is the best. This is a difficult question to respond to as there is not just one simple and straightforward answer. The best casino very much depends on each individual player. What is perfect for one player will be a completely wrong match for another. One of the key factors in determining the best casino for a player however is the type of games they would like to play. In this post, I would like to fill you in on how to find the best places to play if your game of choice is blackjack. Here, you will find the key details you need to take into consideration in order to find a top blackjack casino online.

Proven Safety and Security – This is undoubtedly the most important element to consider when choosing any online casino to play at. You will need to provide personal, sensitive data in order to create your account so you need to be certain that it will be strictly protected. The great news is that it is very simple to verify that an operator is trustworthy and reliable, and that is to check they hold a valid gambling licence. Any online casino that offers services to players in the UK must be licenced and regulated by the Gambling Commission. In order to get such a licence, an operator must adhere to strict standards regarding all aspects of player safety. This includes using state of the art technical security to ensure sensitive data is never divulged to third parties. Casinos must also prove that their games and payouts are fair and random, and they employ reputable, independent testing agencies to analyse and test their RNG to ensure transparency and integrity. Therefore, if a casino holds a UK gambling licence, you can be certain it is safe.

Top Game Selection – Almost as important as safety is the game selection. The best blackjack casinos will provide a wide selection of blackjack games. What’s more, they should offer a variety of interesting and unique variants to cater to your needs. Unlike land based casinos, those found on the internet provide numerous variants of the classic game, that keep the playing experience fresh and exciting. One such example is Blackjack Switch, in which players are dealt 2 hands, and can swap their top two cards to create the optimum chance of success. Another feature of top blackjack casinos is the inclusion of a good selection of games with live dealers. These types of games are about as close as you can get to the atmosphere of playing in a real casino, without having to leave the comfort of your own home. There are also some unique live variants available, such as Blackjack Party by the multi-award winning live game supplier Evolution Gaming.

Generous Bonuses and Promotions for Blackjack – Pretty much all online casinos offer a welcome bonus to encourage you to join. This is great as it gives you a larger bankroll enabling you to play for longer. However, what you will discover is that some of these are not suitable for blackjack players. There are some operators who will only allow you to play slots with their welcome offer, whereas others may exclude certain game variants. Therefore, you should check the terms of any offer before you accept it, to ensure that it offers favourable conditions for the games you want to play. With hundreds of online casinos to choose from, I would recommend using a site such as www.blackjacksites.info which lists the best blackjack bonuses at reputable casinos along with plenty of other useful information.

As you probably know, online casinos rarely develop their own games and platforms. What they do is use the games and software that have been already developed by external B2B companies. In this article, we’ll take a quick look at the biggest names in casino software development industry in its three main divisions: desktop, live and mobile.

Desktop Casino Platforms

These are the main platforms of the casino operators and they come in two variations: instant play and download. When we talk about desktop casinos, there are three main software providers that the gambling operators turn to: Playtech, Microgaming and NetEnt. These software houses offer not only separate games, but whole casino platforms: ones completed with a great intuitive interface to help the players find their preferred game faster and a cashier to allow us to make quick and easy deposits and withdrawals.

Out of the three providers, Microgaming is the one that has the biggest game selection, counting over 1000 titles, as it is the first online casino developer in history, active from 1994. Unfortunately, not all the games are of the highest graphical quality, as some of them are quite old, but at least there are properly functioning, with absolutely random outcomes and, therefore, 100% fair. Microgaming offer instant-play and download desktop software.

Playtech, on the other hand, is the most popular software platform. There are, in fact, hundreds of online casino operators that have chosen them, as they offer a full array of products: instant-play and download platforms for the desktop users, as well as live dealer casinos and mobile solutions.

NetEnt, on the other hand, are the software provider that offers the games of the highest quality. They might not offer download software for desktop, but their browser platform is so impressive and fast-functioning that no one can really complain about that. But what’s most impressive about them is their mobile games, something that we’re going to talk about next.

Mobile Casino Platforms

As I mentioned my previous post, mobile compatibility is the main focus of gambling providers today. And out of all the software houses that develop games and other solutions for casino operators, we must confess that we’re the most impressed with NetEnt. In fact, the company has its dedicated mobile division, called NetEnt Touch, which deals solely with the creation of new touch-screen-friendly games and the adaption of desktop ones to mobile. Other providers that develop mobile games and deserve your attention would be Quickspin and Play’n Go, the latter of which is one of the few providers that develops games not only in landscape mode, but in portrait as well. Microgaming and Playtech also have quite a great selection of mobile-friendly games, but, first, they are not of the same quality, and, second, they are not as many. They do offer, live dealer games, though, something that not many software houses can brag about.

Live Dealer Platforms

Live dealer games are a must for every casino, but the fact to the matter is that not many software providers offer such products. As we already mentioned, Playtech and Microgaming do, but only Playtech offers live dealer games for mobile as well. And no matter how good these software providers are at what they do, when it comes to live casino games, there are two names that come before them. And those are Evolution Gaming and Extreme Live Gaming. Those two providers offer exclusively live gaming solutions which means that they have more time and resources to perfect their live dealer platforms. And trust me when I say that it shows. Evolution Gaming, in fact, is considered to be one of the pioneers in the field. The company powers the live casino platforms of some of the biggest names in the industry, including 888 Casino, Betway and William Hill. Extreme Live Gaming is a relatively new player, but one that is quickly finding its place among the best in the industry. If live dealer games are what you’re looking for, then you will surely enjoy what these two providers have in store for you. The best part of it all is that both platforms are available not only on desktop, but on mobile as well.

Online gambling is one of the most competitive niches in business, so online operators are constantly investing in the innovation of their platforms, in new games and in more betting options, so that they can keep the attention of their already-registered players and attract new ones. This is particularly true when it comes to online casinos where players are usually able to choose from hundreds of exciting real money games. In order to be able to offer their customers this great range of casino games, the online operators work with various software providers. You can only imagine the type of high-end technology that has to be used so that those casinos can provide the games to hundreds if not thousands of players at the same time and instantly display the movements in their account balances. But one of the most impressive features of online casinos is that you can access them and take advantage of their full functionality on mobile as well.

Going Mobile

Mobile compatibility is, in fact, one of the main focuses of online gambling operators today. This is, naturally, due to the fact that more and more players prefer to play their favourite games on the go, through their smartphones or tablets. And though not all the games from their desktop platforms are available on mobile, online operators make sure that the players have a solid mobile game selection to choose from and all the needed tools to deposit and withdraw money to and from their casino account. In fact, the mobile cashiers are just as fast, secure and functional as the desktop ones, with the only difference that in certain cases there are fewer payment methods accepted. This is actually one of the few things that online casinos should try and better in the most recent future – to add all the available deposit and withdrawal options to their mobile platforms. That, and to offer their full game selections on the go, though this is something that the software providers that create the games should take care of.

Live Gaming

One of the most impressive features of every single online casino is that it offers live dealer games. Most live games nowadays are in HD quality and have all kinds of betting options and settings to enhance even further the experience of the players. The games can switch between camera views or give you close-ups of the hottest spots on the table, and allow you to interact with the dealer and the other players. This is pretty much the highest point of online gambling today, as it allows you to enjoy an authentic casino experience from the comfort of your home. Even better than that, live dealer casinos are now also available on mobile, giving you the opportunity to bring the real casino experience with you no matter where you go. When you think about it, it’s quite impressive. It’s yet another proof of the fact that online gambling is one of the most innovative industries, one that uses all the latest tools that modern technology can offer and that pushes for even more technological advancement.

Online gambling is one of the industries that puts the latest developments in technology to practice the fastest in the hope to give players new exciting ways to enjoy real money gambling on the Internet. We all remember how at the times smartphones were not that popular, the first mobile casinos started to pop up and how live casinos became a standard feature at gambling sites before live streaming was introduced to youtube.

Having this in mind, I decided to start this blog with the hope to connect with other players that, just like me, are interested in the latest developments in the online gambling industry. Soon you will be able to read my first blogposts for the site. There I will share my views about various aspects in the remote gambling industry today, the most common issues that players encounter and what the future holds for the field. Be sure that you will read a lot about mobile casinos, live gaming, new game titles and software upgrades, as those are subjects that interest me a lot.

Something else I’m planning on is preparing various beginner’s guides, game and casino reviews, as well as software reviews. Pretty much everything and anything that interests me and might be helpful to a fellow player, I plan on writing about. So make sure you check back with me regularly and, if you like what you see, make sure you share my blog with your friends as well.