Are Mobile Casino Games Better or Worse Than Regular Casino Games?

By John Isaac,
Editor at online-gambling.com

John Isaac Editor at online-gambling.com

John Isaac is an editor with many years of experience in the gambling industry. He writes expert articles on card games like blackjack and poker. In addition, he is also well aware of the US gambling laws and the Indian and Dutch gambling markets. You can rely on verified information and insightful details.

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Last updated: November 25, 2019

Today, anyone with a mobile device and internet connection has access to an entire casino floor. On the go, bettors can play the Slots; try their luck on Blackjack, Roulette, and Craps; and even find games that no land-based casino offers. And they can bet and win using real money.

There’s more to the mobile casino than convenience © Flicker user Wapster

But is a player better off with the mobile casino? Or is the brick-and-mortar casino worth the drive? It may be surprising to learn that, more often than not, the mobile casino is the way to go.

Compare the Return to Player (RTP) Percentage

How much a player is likely to win on a Slot machine comes down to the Return to Player (RTP). The RTP is the average amount of a player’s total wager they can expect to keep. On the flipside, the “House Edge” is the advantage that the casino has over the player. If the RTP of a game is 90% in favor of the player, then the House Edge is 10% in favor of the casino.

Remember, all casinos games favor the house. That means that, mathematically, the house will eventually have more than the player if they play long enough.

At a land-based casino, Slots offer the lowest (worst) RTP of all other games, and with few exceptions. It’s not uncommon to see 70% RTP (30% house edge), meaning players betting $100 can expect to walk away with $70. So why does anyone play the Slots? Because small bets might trigger huge payouts, including progressive jackpots that can reach $10 million or more.

However, brick-and-mortar casinos, even those on the Last Vegas Strip, have few competitors compared to online casinos. And one of the ways the different betting websites set themselves apart is by advertising their RTP. This can be the average RTP across all the Slots, or on individual Slots. But at many online casinos, players can find both three- and five-reel Slots boasting 95% RTP or more.

Because online table and card games mimic their real-life counterparts to mathematical perfection, both the digital and physical versions offer the same RTP percentages.

Consider the Larger Selection of Casinos and Games

For the vast majority of Americans, the options for local brick-and-mortar casinos are extremely limited. But with an internet connection, the options are endless. Beyond making sure that the site is legitimate and well-regulated, visitors are able to browse the game selection and promotions to compare and contrast offers, RTP, and other factors.

Further, online casinos aren’t limited by floor space. This means thousands of different types of Slots and variations on popular table and card games that don’t exist in physical casinos. In fact, French Roulette has the best RTP, but good luck finding it in any American casino. The best online casinos, however, will offer French, European, and American roulette – on top of exotic choices like multi-ball, multi-reel, and mini Roulette.

Where Real Casinos Beat Mobile Games? Blackjack and Poker.

Professional bettors looking for the highest possible pots, or most consistent payouts, go to brick-and-mortar casinos. The world’s best poker players gather to face off in-person in Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker, where tens of thousands compete for million-dollar prizes. Depending on their location, some players can qualify for the World Series by playing online poker, but they need to sit at a table to win the biggest pots.

With that being said, people have become millionaires by playing poker – without stepping into a physical poker room. But, for the biggest single pots, showing up in person is required. And while the standard RTP for Blackjack is consistent at both online and off-line casinos, the online casino will shuffle all the decks after every deal. At a land-based casino, the dealer won’t shuffle through the decks until they’ve played through a few, giving players the chance to track the cards dealt – and determine if they should increase or decrease their betting. While this is considered “card counting” and might get one banned from the casino if the bet fluctuations are outrageous, it’s not technically cheating.

It is not possible to count cards at an online casino, since it relies entirely on the dealer working their way through the decks. So professional Blackjack players stick to the physical version of the game.