Positive developments?

[dominique]

Over the last 5 years much has changed in online gambling.

The most blatant problems of late are deposit and withdrawal problems caused by UIGEA.

But are there good developments?

I would say that the software is much more stable in general. Used to be the casinos would freeze up in the middle of play, or one would lose connection or their server would go down. All very frustrating, and I haven't seen that in a long time.

Also, the games have gotten a whole lot better, remember for instance the pre-viper Microgamimg software?

Just going down memory lane and it seems some things have surely changed for the better, too.

[lojo]

I've only been playing online for 2(?) years, so haven't seen much of a change for the better. I played a couple of times on other people's accounts in the 90's but wasn't immersed enough to know the difference... it wasn't RTG or anything like the current Microgames.

3Dice still has some problems on my 'little' computer, but they have 'mail bug report' built into the hangs... probably never saw that in the good old days

Live dealer... that's probably new.

I'm still a n00b, other than ease of $in/$out not much difference for me. I do notice the bonus opportunites are deteriorating over all, and I wish I were a sharpy several years ago, I coulda made a killin Just not worth sullying my deposits for them now for the most part.

[silkprint]

I think overall everything has gotten better ...if you live outside the USA . There are so many people waiting on cashins and to a degree the casinos are taking advantage of the waiting period , seeming to stretch it as long as possible. The games have gotten alot better and more casinos have a live chat option and more phone numbers are available .

[dominique]

Yeah, the live chat is a definite improvement...

I gotta go with Lojo on the bonuses, back in the day there were no wagering requirements at all.

I understand that that wasn't sustainable, to many scammers.

I think the net overall has gotten worse because of all the spamming, not just emails but search results too.

[Jody Nustedt]

Bonuses may have gotten worse, but the games themselves have got better. Players now have a much wider selection of games (which of course was inevitable), but also the rules on many, particularly Blackjack and Roulette, have got better as the competition has matured.

[Casinomeister]

I would say for sure - the games have gotten MUCH better. Many of the slots coming out now are just as good as any land based slots. And we are seeing Wagerworks coming out with just that - land based slots online.

From an industry standpoint, fraud detection is much better. It used to rely pretty much on IPs, which we know is problematic with room for error. Now they have people peering in your windows, watching your every move

Worse? We know what that is. The US player is pretty much screwed over.

[Mousey]

A miracle just happened... (no, I'm not preggers)

I downloaded and installed an MG casino, AND downloaded and installed ALL the games in 15 minutes!! (No, it wasn't previously installed on this computer. New computer, only a couple of casinos on it so far.) I can't believe it... what happened with that last update/upgrade? Wow. I am speachless. If I am not halucinating, that is a definite improvement over waiting 6 or more hours of herky-jerky games downloading...

[dominique]

Cool, I am fixing to switch computers and was dreading downloading...

[SlotsWizard]

Many of the slots coming out now are just as good as any land based slots.

Maybe it's because I live in an area with no competition, but I would have to say that the online slots FAR exceed the quality of the land-based ones. Not only in terms of graphics, but more importantly, payout.

With land-based casinos you don't get to choose whose games you play (unless you live in Vegas/Atlantic City/Tunica), so whatever your casino offers, that's all you get. Too bad if it sucks.

One of the things that really irritates me with land-based casinos is, you finally get the bonus round and... holy cow! You just won five times your bet! I would estimate the house edge on the slots at my local casino are upwards of 13% - where is the fun in that?

The other edge that online casinos have over land-based ones is that you don't need to bet the farm just to play. You can play 50-hand video poker at $2.50 a whack. At my land casino the best they offer is 10-hand at $12.50 a pop. With online slots you can hit "Bet Max" and only spend 45 cents. The first time I went to the land casino, I popped a $20 into the slot and hit Bet Max, only to find out that I now had $2 left!

And online, there is zero intimidation when it comes to table games. I admit it, I've never played a table game at a land casino. They're always full and/or the minimum bet is too steep for my kind of budget, nor do I have any idea of what the etiquette is, how much to tip, etc. And from what I understand, you will get some funny looks and/or walked out if you don't bet roughly the same amount on every single hand of blackjack... what's the point in that? I prefer to hit and run, not sit there for 6 hours just to break even.

So... the online casinos offer three things that aren't available in the majority of the physical world: competition, choice, and comfort.

If the industry could get regulated here in the US, some sort of networked instant payment system could be implemented where the tax man always gets his (un)fair share and the player can log off, walk down the street to the ATM and withdraw their already-taxed winnings, that would be a very happy day indeed.

While we're at it, any chance they could change the tax laws to be a little more consumer-friendly too?

There are, of course, things that the land casinos have over the online ones, such as much better comps (thanks to the higher house edges) and all the extras - food, shopping, valet parking, etc. But I really don't see online casinos overtaking land-based ones in the future. I see land-based ones moving online, and all games improving (in terms of payout) all around the country due to the increased competition.

[AussieDave]

Many of the slots coming out now are just as good as any land based slots.

In all sincerity the MG slots (& others too) are better than their land based counterparts. Least they have far better overall payout percentages

In comparison to what we've seen released over say the last 5 years, at a guess, the next 5 years are going to outstanding.

I would hope that Governments get their collective sh#t together and realise that it is far better to legalise the industry. In turn set-up a legitimate monitoring commission, than to keep trying to ban it.



Cheers

Trezz