The free online casino option is a very useful learning tool

In our opinion one of the more important features of all the online casinos on our recommended list is what is usually called the free online casino option. Anyone who has ever been to a real casino and started to play a new casino game or even a new slot machine will understand why we think the option to play a casino game for free is important. We all make mistakes as we learn but the free online casino option allows us to make mistakes without it costing us money. When it comes to online casinos of course they nearly all have slightly different graphics, even for the traditional casino games such as roulette and blackjack which can be played at almost every online casino, so the free online casino option also helps us familiarise ourselves with a new online casino site as well as a new game. For many of us in Ireland even traditional casino games such as craps, baccarat and backgammon can be new to us because they were not available in our real casinos, so the chance to play a few games for free before investing any money is very welcome, but what about the slots. Back in the days of penny slot machines on the pier or in the arcades at our seaside resorts, the thought of needing to learn how to play these machines would never have occurred to us, but the online casino slots games of today are a totally different experience. Most of the modern online casino slots games not only have up to five reels and multiple winning lines, they also provide you with options so that you have to make choices. The free online casino option therefore allows you to play these slots for free until you feel comfortable with all the different elements of each particular slots game. We also have to admit of course that we sometimes play casino games in the free play mode simply to while away a bit of time, although this is not what the option was intended for.

Whilst it is true that all the online casinos on our recommended list offer a free online casino option on some if not all of their casino games, there are differences in how this is done by each online casino and how many games it applies to. It also depends on whether you are playing casino games in the instant casino format or the download casino format. At William Hill casino for instance there are free games available in the instant casino mode which can be played without the need to even register, but there is a far bigger selection of free games available in the download casino mode although you do have to register and set up an account. You can still play the casino games in the free online casino mode without logging in, but obviously you will have to log in if and when you decide to play for real money. Another difference is in how the free play option is displayed. At the BetFred casino for instance free games are again available as both instant casino and download casino, but you need to click on the game you wish to play before the free play option appears on the screen. The log in and registration requirements for the free play option at the BetFred casino are the same as those at the William Hill casino, meaning that you do not need to log in to play free games in either the instant or download format.

Paddy Power casino, Bwin casino and 888 casino on the other hand all require you to log in to access free games in their download casino format, although it does make moving to playing for real that much easier. Again the free play option only appears on the screen after you have opened the casino game you want to play. Ladbrokes casino is probably the odd one out at the moment among the online casinos operated by the big bookmakers, because their free games are apparently only available in the instant casino format.

If we now take a look at the latest smaller specialist online casinos which have joined our recommended list over the last couple of years we find a slightly different approach to the concept of the free online casino. We have of course come to expect a different outlook on the world of online casinos from these sites, which is why they have made the grade on our recommended list. As an example both CasinoCasino and CasinoLand both claim to want to bring the fun back into playing casino games online, so their comprehensive range of casino games not only come from a variety of casino software suppliers but the free play option is the default setting. They actually encourage their casino games players to play for fun by opening their games in the free play mode so that the player has to choose to play for real money. A decision as to whether to play casino games in instant casino or download casino mode is also not necessary because neither of these online casinos offer a download casino. All their casino games are therefore available in instant casino format so that they can all be accessed on a variety of mobile devices including of course mobile phones and tablets. The idea of bringing fun into the playing of casino games at an online casino is to be applauded, but whether playing casino games in the free play mode for any longer than necessary continues to be fun may be debatable. For many of us the fun comes as a result of taking risks, and that means gambling with real money. Yes the free online casino is a great idea and a very useful way to learn a new game or become familiar with a new online casinos and new graphics, but is it ever as much fun as playing for real money.