Legit Online Casinos vs. Land-Based: What’s The Difference?

If you’re new to online gambling in Canada, or gambling in general, you may be wondering how different the experience is from gambling in a brick-and-mortar casino. Today, we’re going to be breaking down the key differences between online and land-based casino gambling and looking at what factors make each one unique and enjoyable.

What’s the difference between online casinos and land-based casinos?

There are many differences between the two, but the biggest difference is the general atmosphere change. If you’ve ever been to a land-based casino, you’ll know that it’s usually a bright, loud, fun environment, with the sounds of rowdy table games and slot machines constantly in your ears. When playing from home, you don’t have any of that, unless you’re playing live dealer games. Live dealer games emulate the experience of sitting down at a table to play: you can chat with the dealer and other players through the chat function, so it’s almost like you’re right there in the casino.

Another big difference is the travel aspect. When going to a land-based casino, you’ll need to drive there, make arrangements to stay at a hotel or get a ride home if you plan on drinking, and may need to wait in lines to play certain games. At an online casino in Canada, you don’t have to deal with any of these things. You can play from wherever you want with mobile casino gambling, or get comfy at your home computer, whenever you want. You’ll never have to wait in line or book a hotel room, but since there are no cocktail waitresses in your living room (I assume), you will need to buy your own drinks. 

Along with these, there are many other differences, along with several pros and cons to each method of gambling.

Online Casino Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Smaller minimum bet amounts: Many online casino games, including online slots in Canada, have minimum bet amounts as low as a few cents.
• Easier to swap between games: Just go back to the home page and choose something else.
• Play multiple games at once: Open multiple tabs, or, some online casinos have a function where you can play up to four games at once on the same screen!
• Multiple payment and withdrawal methods: Most land-based casinos only accept cash, debit, and credit as payment methods. The best casinos online can offer 30+ methods for payments and withdrawals including cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, e-wallets, vouchers, and more, allowing you to pay and receive money however you want.
• Bonuses: Every online casino we recommend via our Canadian online casino reviews offers generous welcome bonuses. Have you ever walked into a land-based casino with $100 and they gave you another $100 as a casino bonus?
• Convenient, no travel required: Cozy up on the couch, at your desk, in bed, or even in the waiting room of the doctor’s office. Play whenever you want, wherever you want.
• Live dealer games: The perfect way to play from the comfort of your own home while also getting to chat and have fun with dealers and other players.

Cons: 

• Security concerns: There are some sites out there that take advantage of new players and try to scam them. (You won’t have to worry about this if you use one of our trusted sites!)
• No exciting atmosphere: Unless you turn your home office into a casino. That’s always an option.
• Slower payouts: You may have to wait a few business days for casinos to verify your ID and process your payment.
• Longer verification process: Since you aren’t talking to anyone face to face, you’ll need to send some sensitive info to the casino, like a picture of your driver’s license or passport, a recent utility bill showing your address, and/or photos of the front and back of your credit card. But don’t worry, they encourage you to block the middle numbers of your credit card, and thanks to SSL encryption on the sites, your information is totally safe from hackers.
• Transaction fees: Some casinos charge transaction fees for withdrawals to help cover costs.

Land-Based Casino Pros & Cons

Pros:

• More exciting atmosphere: The lights, music, conversations, and the constant sound of slot machines is stimulating and exciting.
• Simpler, quicker payout process: Simply visit the cashier and exchange your chips for cash. Easy-peasy. 
• Open 24/7: You can visit any time you like.
• Easy to verify ID: Simply show your photo ID to prove you are who you say you are, and that you’re old enough to enter, and on in you go.
• Loyalty programs: Similar to online casinos, many land-based casinos offer loyalty programs, usually in the form of “points cards” where you receive points the more you play that can be exchanged for cash or credits.

Fallsview Casino, located in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Cons:

• Larger minimum bet amounts: $100 at an online casino will take you a lot farther than it could at a land-based casino, simply because the minimum bets are typically larger there.
• Wait in lines: If you’re visiting a particularly busy casino during a rush, you may find yourself waiting in lines for online poker or your favourite slot machines.
• Travel required: If you don’t live near a casino, you’ll need to travel to one and make arrangements for staying overnight if it’s far.
• Not as many payment options: As mentioned above, most land-based casinos typically only accept cash, credit, or debit for payments. 

The Final Verdict

Obviously, we’re a bit biased in thinking that online casinos are the way to go, but it really depends on what you want. If you’re more reserved, money-conscious, or just hate commuting, then online gambling may be the best choice for you. You can choose where you play, when you want to play, and you can even multitask while you do so. 

If you’re more old-school, or just like the appeal of the land-based casino, that’s the choice for you. But, you can still enjoy the chit-chat and live gameplay by trying some live dealer casino games at online casinos! It’s truly the best of both worlds.