Electronic Casinos

🕵️‍♂️ Casinos – then and now

Just a century ago gambling fans couldn’t have imagined that technology would advance so much in the coming decades that they could have a home theater, a huge music collection, a platform for online battles and a commonly discussed type of casino right in their homes. And that’s only the first things that come to mind, all thanks to one device – the computer – and the technological breakthrough in information exchange – the Internet. The World Wide Web has become an indispensable part of every industry, so let’s skip all fields where it’s applied except one – the gambling entertainment industry.

It’s believed the first official casino opened its doors to visitors in mid-17th century Venice, but a big wave of gambling houses that started operating swept across Europe from the late 18th century and in the following 19th century reached the United States.

📱 What did “electronic casino” mean in the 20th century?

In fact, that term didn’t really exist until the mid-90s. Though gambling halls had electricity, and some time after the slot machine was invented many halls were filled with video slots and outfitted with various electrical and automated devices to ease management and control, casinos remained land-based.

But already at the end of the 20th century players started using offers from the first online gambling operators, placing bets via the Internet and appreciating the conveniences that an electronic casino provided. Gambling clubs began to establish themselves in digital space and offer access via computer devices. Back then the service was still quite primitive with limited functionality.

At first online casino access was through desktop and portable computers, but by the start of the 21st century any gambler could play on a phone or tablet, and in the 2010s online gambling exceeded many bold expectations and became available through virtual reality. By then the design, service set and capabilities of gambling sites had expanded significantly. That’s when casinos really proved they wouldn’t stop evolving and would immediately adopt new technologies to offer visitors interesting modern products. Although every gambling entertainment is based on games, some of them were played hundreds or thousands of years ago.

💻 Games in an electronic casino

Today, signing in to a leading online gambling operator, it’s hard to find a gambling game that isn’t available on the platform. Owners of online gambling houses have tried to gather all the popular and even not-so-well-known games to satisfy the pickiest client. Let’s look more closely at what you can play when visiting this new type of casino.

🃏 Card games

Blackjack, baccarat, poker and the most popular variants of these card games always have their place on online gambling sites. Of course, these games first found fans in land casinos long before anyone imagined being able to play in a modern casino without leaving home. But offline a venue might offer one or two variations, whereas online it’s different and much richer. In other words, online casinos offer a huge choice.

Types of Blackjack online

For example, a Blackjack fan can spend time in an online casino playing not only the classic version but many variations popular around the world:

• American Blackjack, which itself comes in two types: Vegas Blackjack and Atlantic City Blackjack;
• European Blackjack – most similar in rules to the classic version;
• Blackjack Switch – there are also two variants in which dealer rules on 7/17 differ and players on active boxes can swap open cards;
• Spanish 21 – adds its own nuances to the rules, as do the following Blackjack variants:
• Caribbean Blackjack;
• Super Fan 21;
• Pontoon;
• Three-card Blackjack.

About two hundred slot machines with this game are available on 4LUCK and you can try them all for free by visiting the Blackjack online section. That’s where fans of electronic variations will find plenty for long-term entertainment. And if you decide to play for real money, just choose an online casino that offers the Blackjack variant you like. The list of such casinos is shown on the page under each game.

Poker, Baccarat and other card games

Different rule variants exist in other well-known card games like Baccarat or Poker. There’s poker played against other players in poker rooms: Stud, Texas Hold’em, Omaha, and there are types designed for a table with a dealer, which adapt rules and payout structures accordingly.

So, when playing poker at a live-dealer table or on a slot in an online casino, nearly all poker variants allow an extra multiplier on the bet when you make a top combination (two pair, straight, four of a kind, royal flush, etc.), meaning you can win an additional x2 to x250 on a single hand. But hand rankings, dealing order and card replacement rules vary between poker types, so before starting you should check the paytable and the basic poker rules used by the chosen electronic casino.

That covers the most famous card games.

But modern gambling sites offer visitors more than Blackjack, Baccarat or Poker. Operators also add card games that gambling fans around the world played long before electronic gambling appeared, gathering in yards or among friends: Red Dog, Brag, Bura, Sheepshead, Whist, Rams, Pitch and others.

🎡 Roulette in an electronic casino

Roulette is the symbol of every gambling house. It’s hard to find a casino without it. This game has been the stumbling block for many mathematicians, strategists, adventurers and plain fortune-seekers. People play to test calculations, pass time, show prestige and wealth by making large bets, but most often a bet is placed hoping for Fortune’s favor and a quick win. You can read about roulette’s history, types, strategies and origin theories, how to play for free and win real money on the site in the informative article about Roulette.

🎲 Dice online

Six-sided dice were for a long time the most popular gambling tool. Evolving from paraphernalia of ancient divination rituals, they became a core component of many money games. There are many dice games and, of course, some made their way into casinos and later onto online gambling platforms. The most popular casino dice game became Craps, so you’ll definitely find it among the offerings of an internet casino.

🎰 Online slots on gambling sites

Slot machines are the youngest gambling entertainment compared to other money games, but they’re the fastest evolving and most popular. On average, about 80% of a casino owner’s revenue comes from slots. For offline venues this figure is somewhat lower, while on top-ranking online gambling platforms it reaches 90%, making slots the main profit source.

That’s no surprise. From simple one-armed bandits where you dropped a coin and pulled a lever, slots evolved into colorful games with first-rate 3D animation, extensive functionality and engaging storylines, incorporating many interactive features.
On 4LUCK, by the way, you can find a huge selection of casinos offering free spins as a no-deposit bonus on popular online slots in the free spins section.

🤳 Live-dealer games in online gambling

Live games have become an integral part of reputable gambling brands that have earned a reputation offering services on the Internet. In electronic casinos with live dealers people prefer to play blackjack, baccarat or poker, and live roulette is also very popular.

For many users who prefer to play at home, it’s much more interesting when they deal with a live person rather than a visualized slot whose result depends on an RNG.

In the late 90s providing such a feature in an online casino was expensive and image quality left much to be desired. In the early decades of the 21st century everything improved. Streams are broadcast in high resolution without stuttering or lag, provided the operator maintains the equipment, and reliable electronic casinos, given strong competition in the online gambling market, must do their utmost for visitor comfort or risk losing them. Equipment is therefore carefully controlled and checked, and faults are fixed as quickly as possible.

So those who prefer live interaction with a dealer only need to go to the relevant section of the gambling site and enjoy playing roulette or card games.

💡 How to quickly find a game in an electronic casino

The easiest way to find the game or version you like is to use search. Every gambling site offers this function. You can also find the slot you’re interested in on 4LUCK and see which operators have it. The best approach is to choose an online casino with a good reputation where that game is available. Finding such a venue won’t take long and the 4LUCK casino listing will help. A filter helps narrow gambling platforms by different criteria.

It’s also convenient to start playing for real money after trying a game in demo mode. Under each game from the casino games collection several sites where it’s available are shown. So you can follow the link, read the features, and if everything suits you, proceed to play in the electronic casino.

🤖 Electronic casino providers

When electronic casinos first started operating (mid-90s), there weren’t many companies developing software, let alone those working on gambling software. The industry’s potential gradually became apparent and the number of developers began to grow rapidly, and today dozens or even hundreds of companies provide products for online casinos. Some are well-known not only among players but also regular Internet users, due to advertising and themed articles. As for gamblers, they most often choose slots from the following producers:

• Microgaming – the first company to create games for online casinos and for a while a monopolist in the sector, though not for long as other developers saw the gambling goldmine;
• Novomatic Group – started operating 14 years before Microgaming (in 1980), but joined online software development a few years later. In the first decade of the 2000s some Novomatic games (Columbus, Lucky Lady’s Charm, Sharky) were popular among slot fans in the CIS and were moved online first, and Book of Ra still has players who moved from land-based halls playing it regularly. Especially popular now are the six-reel Books;
• NetEnt is among the companies that from 2007 began pushing toward the leader position and held it for many years. It’s hard to single out a few slots as the most successful; NetEnt has plenty. The most famous are Jack and the Beanstalk, Gonzo’s Quest, Starburst. Likely because casinos often award free spins on these for registration. Those NetEnt blockbusters were among the first in virtual casinos;
• Yggdrasil – the developer entered the gambling industry in 2013 and immediately attracted attention with slots full of special effects, great soundtracks and excellent animation;
• Play’n’Go – the company started as a subcontractor, but thanks to unique gambling solutions quickly became a sought-after independent brand in the gaming market;
• NYXGaming – the group that launched its provider in 2006 and earned high player ratings in electronic casinos.

Popular creators of games for online gambling also include Quickspin, CasinoTechnology, Amatic, Thunderkick, Evoplay.

The developers listed here are certainly current industry leaders. But any day new companies can appear among them, since other market players try to draw attention to their products by adding innovations, and a bold new idea may suddenly push someone out of the top. And over a year it’s even harder to predict.

🎫 Free play in a casino

Visiting an electronic casino you immediately see a huge assortment of games for different tastes. To play even a small part of them requires a decent bankroll. That’s fine when luck follows you during a gambling session, but fortune doesn’t always align with the desire to play. When finances are tight and you have free time to spend on gambling, consider options that don’t require spending money.

Free play can mean:

1. passing time with “play money” or demo credits;
2. using bonus funds and various promotional offers from operators.

For the first option just go to a casino site and, without registering, choose “Demo mode” in the game you’re interested in, or use the site’s collection of free gambling games. Also, for fair and thorough casino and slot reviews you can earn points equivalent to $2, which you can later cash out or spend on various bonus coupons for playing at casinos. Details about reward for reviews are on the forum in the topic Get $2 for your review, and the 4LUCK store is here, offering a huge selection of digital goods for gambling.

Naturally, the second option is more interesting – playing at the casino’s expense. 4LUCK will help again: a huge number of offers are available in the No-deposit bonuses section. You do have to meet wagering requirements before bonus funds become withdrawable, but that’s the gameplay process gamblers look for in an electronic casino.

📱 Electronic casino on mobile

When gambling sites became available from mobile devices they further expanded the meaning of “electronic casino”, because now the full range of favorite games fit on a gadget that easily fits in your pocket. Of course, the mobile conveniences available now didn’t appear immediately. Hardware manufacturers needed time to produce devices with specs capable of handling data streams for comfortable play. Developing mobile slot machines had its own challenges – separate builds for desktop and for phone were required. But from the early 2010s devices gained necessary power, mobile Internet speed increased, and developers got a convenient programming standard compatible with most devices. That standard was HTML5, eliminating the need for additional software when accessing electronic casinos on mobile.

Since then gamblers have fast, free access to comfortable play in any type of gambling entertainment, and companies in the gambling industry keep stepping into the future, creating accessible virtual casinos. But that’s another story. We’ll return to finish this one and look at electronic casinos from one more angle.

⚠ Electronic online casino: pros and cons

Many things in life have two sides. The same goes for electronic casinos. On one hand – the joy of gameplay and chances to win big money, on the other – gambling breeds compulsive behavior and debt.

👍 Advantages of gambling sites

So what else can we count among the perks of playing in casinos via the Internet? They include:

• no need to go anywhere,
• a huge range of entertainment,
• many ways to fund your account: bank card, e-wallet or cryptocurrency,
• high payout percentages – usually at least 90% RTP.

Another plus is bonuses that let you play in an electronic casino for free and then withdraw real money after a successful session. Just take bonuses at licensed casinos if you don’t want to deal with unscrupulous venues later and spend time on complaints about gambling sites.

Don’t forget regulation and licensing controls. Losing a license, paying fines and – most importantly – losing reputation often costs an operator more than making money by cheating visitors, so playing at high-rated casinos is the wisest choice.

👎 Disadvantages of electronic casinos

The main disadvantage of online casinos is the greatest danger inherent in gambling: losing all your money and getting into heavy debt. Previously, to play cards, roulette or slots you had to go somewhere, but easy access to online casinos has multiplied the risk. There are many cases where people, in a fit of gambling and trying to recoup losses, lose valuables, homes and businesses, take loans they can’t repay with available income. That risk is unavoidable with money-involving gambling.