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Can Land Based Casinos Catch Up to Online Casinos?

When is comes to the differences between land based and online casinos, the former certainly has an advantage when it comes to atmosphere and social engagement. Internet based gambling entities tend to win in terms of tech as well as how they are constantly introducing new and improved aspects in provide a better gaming experience for the player. In fact we would go as far as to say that bricks and mortar casinos could actually learn some things from their online brethren.

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More Info on Slot Machine Help Screens

There’s a massive difference between the screens of the slots you play on with internet-based casinos than those found in actual casinos. The online versions always contain a lot of useful and helpful information. Sadly your average land-based casinos only have slots with just rudimentary instructions. They don’t even have the pay tables and RTP (Return to Player) shown, which we think is a huge fail. Online slots always have the RTP displayed prominently. Knowing this gives you a better idea of your long term chances of winning.

Land-Based Casinos: Deposit Bonuses

Since its inception, land-based casinos have been using all sorts of bonuses and promotions as bait for new players. There are matched bonuses and free play or free spins. For example, when it comes to matched deposits, here’s how it all works:

The online casino offers a 100% match deposit bonus + 50 free spins.
You deposit $100.
Now you qualify for a $100 bonus and 50 free spins

Keep in mind that you must satisfy all the wagering requirements which are normally listed in the Terms and Conditions. It’s the same for cashing out. As we’ve previously discussed in other articles, these bonuses are great as a means to be able to practice on these machines without putting any of your own money down. With some, you can win real cash, though cashing out is never as straightforwards as we might like it to be.

Wouldn’t it is cool if on entering bricks and mortar casinos, you were given a similar bonus? Though the details of how to implement such a system in the real world as opposed to online might prove pretty insurmountable. Having said that, in 2017, the Spanish casino of Casino de Illescas did run a successful promotion whereby you received a 20% deposit bonus worth up to €250.

Slot Machines with Multiple Games

In the traditional land-based casinos you’ll find that each slot machine only houses one game. When you want to change the game, then you’ll need to change the machine. It does seem a bit archaic in the 21st century. The weird thing is that slots machine companies could easily put more than one game per machine. We can see that video game developers already do this. They have screens that feature multiple choices as far as types of games are concerned. Perhaps the casinos are already so invested in their existing machines that there’s not enough reason to make the changes. We have noted that casinos are looking into the possibilities of offering “terminals” which would combine slots, sports betting, and table games all together within the same machine. Let’s see how that plays out.

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Offer Higher Return to Player

Online casinos have always beaten land-based ones when it comes to the RTP’s offered. On the whole, online slots payout 5% – 6% more than the land-based ones. Even the table games offered over the internet offer better rules and RTP. For example, with online blackjack, the RTP is around 99.0% and 99.5%. The land-based casino version of blackjack tends to offer between 98% to 99%. The difference may seem small, but if you’re playing over time, then it starts to matter.

But we must also keep in mind that it’s a lot costlier to run bricks and mortar establishment, then an online venture. All those massive operating costs which include labor and rent and utilities are going to ensure that the RTP rates are not going anywhere south for a long time.

Land-Based Casinos: Feature Lower Minimum Bets

You can find the lowest bet thresholds on online casinos. In fact, there are certain games you can play for as little as $0.01 and table games with a $1 minimum per round. This makes playing affordable for pretty much everyone. Congratulations, you’re now a low roller! Now when it comes to land-based casinos, the usual fee for a slot machine is $0.50 to $3. For table games, it’s $10 to $25 per round or game. Once again, yes, we get it. Casinos have overheads, unlike the online opposition. But it wouldn’t do any harm to offer smaller stakes. gamblers are still going to gamble. It would mean that they would need to spend longer at the casino, which is also no bad thing as far as business goes.

Offer More Free Tables

Join any gaming web site and within seconds you can find yourself seated at a virtual table ready to play. If you want to play slots online, then likewise, there’s no waiting around. You may have t fill out some sort of registration before you start. But they offer you free plays so that you can find your poison. And land-based casinos don’t offer anything of the sort. You’ll need to play with real cash from the get-go. It’s true that there can be promotions whereby you can play table games for free to learn the ropes. But it’s a rarity to find.
You’d think it would be in the casino’s interest to educate their customers.

It would be great if there’s just one table on the gaming floor that’s set aside for beginners to practice on. Sure they wouldn’t make any money from that table, but the casino would profit from turning these gamblers from beginners to real cash players.

Use More AI/Robots

The great thing about real-life casinos is the social aspect. You can go with friends and all be involved. Spend some time chatting with the dealer, order some drinks from the waitress, and sit with your mates, elbow to elbow at the games table. As an experience, it’s second to none. But these casinos also feature any number of inefficiencies. An example would be the speed of service when an establishment is busy, on a holiday weekend for instance. The casino at Encore Boston Harbour had this very same problem. So they rolled out a series of self serve drinks machines. So now the waitresses can serve themselves. There’s actually plenty of room for improvement in traditional land-based casinos. The technology is there, so it’s just a case of the will power to make change happen.

Conclusion: Land Based Casinos

There will always be huge differences between the land-based casinos and the online versions. Namely, these all come down to the bottom line, to the differences in cost. But the former should really start to pay attention to their newer competition. There are so many aspects or means of making for better customer experience, those traditional casinos should start taking note of. The more customers are exposed to better treatment and gameplay at the online jackpot sites, the more they will then seek those same aspects offline.