There's been a good deal of discussion about online gambling recently with legislators, operators and the global community of gamblers trying to fathom complex matters for example Internet "locality". In the midst of these deliberations, many players are already wanting to evaluate the relative merits of gambling online or at land-based casinos.

Through all of this there has been a lack of focus on the experience of the individual who actually plays money at a casino. How about the gamblers who are central to any issues concerning casinos? We pose the sensible opening question - that are better, online or land-based slot machines?

Land-based slots are the world's most popular casino game. They pay more winnings to gamblers than all the other casino games together. But how well does this cherished form of land-based gambling adapt to online play? The great majority of slots enthusiasts believe it has made the transition splendidly. The online versions of slots have end up being the most-played type of online casino games, owing in part to the ease of finding slots online (over here) (they're also easy enough to find and play at land-based casinos) and in part to the very fact that the game play is so simple.

Slot machines at land-based casinos are already controlled by computers for a long time, so it's relatively easy to adapt the game to play online. Some players are puzzled whenever you tell them a land-based slot machine is no more than a computer in a fancy case, but this really is exactly what it's. These slots are driven by a microprocessor with a built-in random number generator. They work just like the online versions since the operating software is hard-coded in the microprocessor.
This means there is not much of an impact between the way the game works and just how the odds compute for online or land-based slot machines. But you can find some differences.

The most obvious difference, the one that can forever separate the two forms, is the fact that you cannot physically put your hands on an online slot. Similarly, land-based machines have much bigger and more spectacular light and sound displays, however the graphics on the internet slots are sophisticated enough currently to emulate reality very well.

You'll find numerous less evident advantages of playing online slots. For a start, you pick the time, place as well as the most comfortable seat in the house. You can play with your own refrigerator, DVD music system and other personal comforts close to hand. This is one of the great appeals of online casinos - you may visit them and experience all of their excitement without stepping outside your own home! And you may interrupt play whenever you like without worrying that some other gambler is going to annex your place at the machine.

Possibly the most telling difference between playing slots at an online compared to a land-based casino is the nature of the comps you get. At a land-based establishment, the keen slots player may receive a coupon or some similar small comp as a reward for slaving away at a machine for several hours. It's quite different online because the competition among casinos is so intense.

With the web it will not matter where in the world you live, every online casino would love to lure your custom. As a result you can get a comp simply for deciding to play at a given casino in spite of simply how much you have gambled there. The sign-up bonus is a common online attraction. It provides you with a tremendous value in real credits at the casino as well as you can exploit this bonus to swell your bankroll, spend more time playing the slots and experience more opportunities to be a winner.