Online casinos first made in appearance in 1995 and were immediately welcomed by the first online gamblers.

At that time, online casinos did not allow you to bet with real money, and the games could only be played in fun mode. But in just a few years the online gambling scenario quickly evolved, and currently there are thousands of casino sites offering games from various software companies such as Playtech, Microgaming, IGT, and Net | Ent .

Each software program can offer from a few dozen games up to several hundred; in some cases companies make one game a month.

Once you have gone to the official casino website you must register as a new customer and access the games room with a "username" and "password".

This process can take place both via browser and/or by downloading the casino's software. Regardless of the gaming method, you should at least have an ADSL line (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) to avoid slowdowns in gaming sessions.

If you bet via a browser (Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Opera), they make use of already embedded plug-ins like Java, Macromedia Shockwave, or Macromedia Flash, which will load and start your selected games.

Another interaction mode is to download the game software (also called "dealer") from the official casino website onto your hard drive. When the download is complete, a new icon will appear on your desktop and/or Windows menu. Clicking on it will start the installation (which will take a few minutes) that takes place via the connection with the casino's server.

In doing so, all the interactions between you (customer) and the casino are handled without the use of a browser. The advantage of using the Dealer instead of a browser is that the game will be faster and more fluid, as the graphic and sound aspects are loaded directly from the PC.

Most casinos offer both possibilities, but lately it seems that players prefer to use the browser mode.

Yes, absolutely. There are no certified online casinos (or on this site) that are not free. Downloading online casino software is always free.

No. The now-known value-added connection that has deceived hundreds of families has nothing to do with electronic casino software. The software is free to download, also after it is opened to connect to the casino's server. Your connection fee will not be changed at all, and will remain exactly the same.

As a first-time player you must consider some basic elements: long presence on the market, positive reviews on forums and casino review sites, an Aams license, payout rates published on the home page, not overly-high playthrough (if you play with bonuses), and last but not least great customer service.

Let's analyze each of the points just mentioned:

• gambling license - by law, all online casinos must have a license for online gaming which is recognized by international law, and above all local laws. For example, an online casino offering gambling to users residing in the United Kingdom must have a gaming license issued by the entity with its headquarters in England, i.e. the Gambling Commission, otherwise the site operates illegally. But you don't have to worry about this because when you sign up to an online casino, you must send a personal document (such as your identity card or passport), and if your country of residence is incompatible with the license of the casino you have chosen, you are automatically blocked. Also, to avoid wasting too much time, the reviews of the casinos you can find on Topratedcasinoonline already indicate which countries the casino can offer its online entertainment games in.
• factor “seniority” - it may seem futile, but since you are a beginner you should definitely play in a game room that's been on the market for some years now. If a casino has been online for a long time it means that it has sustained the market's competition, and if it has managed to this it is because it has not had legal or economic problems. There is nothing wrong with new online casinos, but let the more experienced players evaluate them.
• payout percentage - this is not left to the discretion of the casino, but is a legal requirement; online casinos must publish their payout rates relative to all games on the home page of the site (the ratio between the total amount bet and the winnings paid by the casino). This lets you see the average payout percentage of the casino and decide whether to play or not. You can find casino payouts and a further explanation of its meaning here.
• playthrough - if you decide to use the bonus, then choose a casino with a playthrough value that does not exceed 25x. This will make it easier to reach the number of bets required to withdraw the winnings obtained by exploiting the bonus. Review this topic by reading this guide on the meaning of the playthrough value.
• software - the first few times you play on online casinos, it's best to use the more popular software because it often offers more fluid game sessions or their lobby works better if you decide to download the dealer. They also have graphics which are more congenial with less experienced users. Some of the most popular software on the Italian market are PlayTech, MicroGaming, IGT, and Betsoft.
• customer support - the last important point to look for when searching an online casino is its customer support. The best casinos have customer service that can be reached 24/7 via email, a phone number, or an instant chat. When clear answers are given with simple and comprehensible explanations, it is a very positive and comforting sign.

There are some innovations that over the years have given a big hand to physical casinos and the world of gambling in general. Technological innovations, but also human intuitions, have given way to a gaming universe that has been able to expand more and more, reaching portions of the market that were unimaginable only a handful of years ago.

In fact, playing in casinos doesn't simply mean going to tables or slot machines and investing time and money in the hopes of winning. It means enjoying an all-around entertainment experience full of fun, opportunities, and collateral events that sometimes have little to do with the game itself. Here are the seven innovations that have changed physical and online casinos over time: :

• free gifts or comp points - the gifts offered by physical casinos are an idea as old as the sun, but it has worked from the beginning. Depending on how much a player spends inside a casino's physical facility, special benefits such as hotel rooms, flights, limousine trips to and from the game room, free meals, and other items are offered. This system has worked so well that online casinos have also used it from their creation. One of the best examples is Comp Points, which can be accumulated based on the game volume generated by the player. At each threshold reached there are rewards that can be given in the form of real chips, real money, or free spins.
• poker tournaments - there was a time when poker was seen as a suspicious activity, to be played with crooks in an underground cellar. Now there are prestigious circuits and tournaments which offer hundreds of thousands of euros in prize money, often even millions. Over the last decade, their number has exponentially increased, and the casinos that decided to focus heavily on poker are quite pleased.
• progressive jackpots - this is one of the most recurring gambler fantasies: winning a jackpot that changes your life. You used to have to risk tons of money in order to win a lot of money; today with progressive jackpots (typically slot machines, but not only), you can also make bets of just a few cents. You can even win a jackpot in poker, also if you lose the hand: these are the famous 'bad beat' jackpots that arise when a player loses to an opponent (or the dealer) despite having a very strong hand.
• loyalty card - in some ways, this is the evolution of free gifts. They are simple cards like the ones for the supermarket, which allow casinos to track player activities and preferences, and allow players (even the most amateur or occasional ones) to accumulate points with which to get free gifts.
• video slot machines - are slowly replacing the classic three reel slot machines. Video slot machines are not only popular in online casinos, but also physical casinos. Thanks to their technology, the themes and playing possibilities are virtually endless. Also, given the low production cost, video slot machines make it so anyone can play because they often offer cheap bets. Over the past 2 years, the most successful video slot machines have been Rocky, Iron Man 2, Scarface, Lucky Witch, and Riviera Riches.
• live games on online casinos - already re-named onlive games, combining the terms 'online' and 'live', these indicate the presence of a physical croupier within the online casinos. This works quite simply: the online casino places a webcam in front of a gaming table, which can be roulette or blackjack, which is run by a genuine croupier. Players can follow the game from the webcam at home, placing bets just as if they were in an actual casino.
• online betting - there are online casinos, but also online sports betting sites. They became famous in the late nineties, and are a reference point for all gamblers today. Many online casinos have implemented an entire section for sports betting in their system, at any time of the day, and from anywhere in the world. But that's not all... the real novelty is that you can bet in real time. Until a few years ago, if you wanted to bet on a sports event you had to go to a reception room before the start of the event (sometimes even much earlier). With the advent of real time betting, you can now place bets during a game or event, with the various odds updated with the passing of minutes. In Italy one of the best online casinos which also offers sports betting is Bet365.

Playing in online casinos is a pastime like any other, but each activity should be approached correctly. To do this, there are four golden rules that you should always follow:

• never play with more money than you can afford to lose - don't spend more than you can afford to lose. You should never gamble with money you can't afford to lose. You should play with a budget allocated specifically for online casinos, which has nothing to do with the money you need for daily life: food, clothes, a roof to sleep under... Playing with money that you can't afford to lose influences your decisions while playing, which in turn affects the outcome. This can give way to a downward spiral that leads to the result that is most feared: losing.
• do not disclose private information in online casino chats - don't provide information about the identity of people who meet in chats in online casinos. Privacy is one of the fundamental points not only of online gambling, but which the entire web should be based on. Maintaining your privacy and that of other players is critical for avoiding the risk that sensitive data will get in the hands of malicious people who might use it for illicit purposes.
• do not ask for any loaned money - don't ask other players in online casinos who are winning or losing for money. Only relying on your own economic sources is important when playing in online casinos. This point can be reconnected to point 1), because you usually ask to borrow money when you are losing (it is more difficult, and less logical, to ask to borrow money if you are winning unless you want to wager even more). In any case, similar to how you should not ask anyone for money, you should also never lend it to them because you never know who is on the other side of the computer.
• just play to have fun - remember that you play on online casinos for fun, as a hobby. This point should always be remembered. The game should be fun, a pastime, not a reason for life or the main way to earn a living. In doing so you risk the game taking control of your life, and when that happens, like for all "vices," the consequences can be very serious.