Online gambling has taken the world by storm. Just like the Internet itself, it seemed like a small, niche genre. Up until it suddenly wasn’t, and online casinos started appearing left, right and centre! It was this sudden rise of online gambling that left many players feeling overwhelmed and confused. Creating the perfect conditions for various rumours and myths to spread!
Last time around, we debunked some of the greatest blackjack myths. And today, we’re going to do the same thing! We’ll tackle some of the greatest misconceptions punters have with online casinos, and shed light on those topics.
Bonuses Have Impossible Conditions
We decided to tackle this one because there is an element of truth to it. Some promotions are designed from the get-go to ensure you won’t be able to meet their requirements. This usually applies to those eye-catching welcome promotions, which promise thousands of bonus dollars!
But does this mean that all bonuses are scams? Of course not! We’d even say that the vast majority of welcome bonuses are legit. Before claiming a promotion, it’s important to review what their terms and conditions say. Check the wagering requirements, and which games contribute to them. If you do a bit of research, you’ll save yourself a huge headache!
Card Counting is Possible
This is a misconception that used to be true for brick-and-mortar casinos. But even then, it wasn’t true for long. Physical casinos banned people from card counting and banned them for life if they were caught. They also took steps to make it more difficult to count cards, such as adding multiple decks and shuffling them often.
Card counting for online casinos is outright impossible. There is no physical deck involved, and everything is done via RNG. That means each drawn card is randomly determined by the computer from eight decks. And once that round is done, the software picks completely at random again.
Because the deck isn’t reused for the next round, counting cards is outright impossible for online play. We’re afraid it won’t work for live dealers, either. They also have their own tricks to prevent punters from counting cards to give themselves an advantage.
Slot RTP is Always Right
One aspect of Return to Player (RTP) people seem always to forget is that it’s a calculated average. The developer calculates an RTP by playing a massive amount of rounds for their specific slot. Using this data, they are able to predict how often you should win if you play one hundred rounds.
The thing about RTP is that it doesn’t account for luck. And that’s a good thing! If all releases paid according to their RTP, players would never be able to win. It’s that occasional burst of luck that allows punters to beat the casino’s advantage and to become a winner. So use an RTP as it’s meant to be used; a helpful guide, not irrefutable fact.
Online Casinos are Rigged
For all the conveniences that online gambling brings, it can be challenging to trust a piece of software. How often do we see headlines telling us how someone was scammed for thousands via the internet?
While we feel bad for people who lose their money this way, the only reason that happens is that they are technologically illiterate. Someone who knows their way around the internet and computers will be able to research things and avoid apparent traps.
The same thing is true when it comes to online casinos. Are there websites which are just out to fleece you? Undoubtedly. But that’s why to stick to trusted casinos only. Make sure to read casino reviews before you register an account. Check if the operator you’re signing up with has a valid license. All these steps are essential to avoid a fraudulent casino.
At the end of the day, it just doesn’t pay off for websites to be rigged against you. News travels fast across the internet, and negative rumours can quickly sink an operator. With such fierce competition from other online casinos, no one wants to put their business at risk by cheating.
Online Gambling is More Addictive
This is outright false. Playing at a brick-and-mortar and an online casino are equally addictive. The only difference in that regard is convenience. Websites can be accessed instantly, from almost any location, so long as you have an internet connection. Meanwhile, it takes a while to drive a physical location, provided you even have one near you.
On top of that, online casinos actually give you more tools to combat gambling addiction. Thanks to Know-Your-Consumer (KYC) regulations, operators keep track of your information. They can detect how many times you log in, how much you spend, and can be proactive in combatting a forming gambling addiction.
Demo Play Wins More Often
We’re sure everyone felt this at some point in their lives. While you were trying a game, it paid frequently, and you were able to trigger special features often. And then you swapped to real-money play, and all of those bonuses disappeared! Clearly, demo play is designed to hook you in, and isn’t representative of the real thing, right?
The answer is no. Software providers face the same problem online casinos do; they have a lot of strong competitors! Because of this, developers don’t want to risk their reputation by creating multiple versions of one release. A lot of online play is dependent on trust. And if you lose player trust, you may never get it back.
As for why we often feel like demo play pays us more often? It’s purely to do with the fact you’re not playing real money. It’s much easier to gloss over each loss when you’re not actually losing money. When you’re playing for real, you’re more careful with your wagers. So you notice each loss you might not have paid that much attention to while you were trying out a game in demo mode.