An online casino is also known as an internet casino or a virtual casino. The online casino refers simply refers to the computer or an online version of the traditional casino game. Now you don’t have to go physically to a casino as you can play online casino right from the comforts of your home on your computer. The rules and the odds offered by online casinos are the same as those of physical casinos. There might be some online casinos that give a higher payback in case of slot machines. Many online casinos will also manage payout percentage audits on their websites so that members can check their accounts from time to time.

Today you can even play table games like blackjack online. The rules of the game will state the payout percentages of the game. However people will always have a question in mind about the reliability and trust issues of the online casino that they want to join. The online casino needs to implement special software in their website so that people can start playing the games. These online casinos normally purchase software from organizations that specialize in the gaming industry. Some of the well known software companies developing and selling online casino software are Realtime Gaming, Cryptologic and Playtech. These companies develop software to generate random numbers in games involving cards, dice and numbers.
Online casinos can be divided into three major types, viz casinos that can be played online like web based casinos, downloadable casinos where you download the software to play and live casinos. The web based casinos consist of websites where you can simply enter the website and start playing. The games can be played in the browser itself with the help of additional plug in like Flash, Shockwave and Java. However web based casinos require considerable amount of bandwidth as the sounds as well as the graphics are loaded online.
The downloaded casinos refer to software that can be downloaded from the site to your computer. The software connects to the web server of the casino site and then you can start playing without the help of a browser. Playing through software is faster than playing online since the sounds and the graphics are located in the software itself. However the initial download of the software from the site will take some time and bandwidth. However there is no problem once the software is downloaded and installed on your computer. There is also a threat of a virus or a malware getting in your computer as well through the software. The third in line are the live based casinos where players from anywhere in the world can play with each other as if they are playing in a real casino. All players can interact, hear and even see each other as well as the dealers who are conducting the game.
Hence we see that online gaming has become a recent internet phenomenon because of the benefits and the comforts that it offers.