We now have access to more online casino games than ever before

There is no doubt that almost everybody enjoys playing games. We start as very young children and most of us continue to enjoy playing games well into old age. The only thing that is likely to change over that period of time is the type of games we like to play, or indeed can play as we get older. There has however also been a significant increase in our options over the last twenty years or so, and modern technology has provided us with a whole new range of games and of course new ways to play them. Most households with kids now have a games console of some description, although to be fair interest in that form of gaming is certainly not confined to the younger generation and a large number of adults also enjoy playing the vast array of computer games they can now buy. Modern technology has also led to a big increase in the number of people playing the old traditional casino games through the introduction of online casinos which are accessible to everyone with an internet connection. The internet has of course changed the way we do many things in the course of our daily lives, but many of us also use the internet to enhance our leisure time which is why the advent of online casinos has proved so popular. Very few people in Ireland ever had the opportunity to play casino games such as roulette in a real casino on a regular basis, let alone other traditional casino games such as baccarat or craps. It was only when the big bookmakers decided to introduce a few casino games onto their online sports gambling sites that most of us had the chance to play this type of game. Although all the online casinos now feature a full range of these traditional casino games including a number of interesting variations based on the same themes, the vast majority of the online casino games are slots games in various forms and that is probably the main reason why there are now so many people enjoying playing casino games online. Most of us have probably enjoyed playing slot machines at some time in our lives, and they are easy to play with almost instant results making them the most obvious type of game to play when you first visit an online casino site. Most observers think that it is more likely to be the huge range of new slots and video slots that has driven the popularity of playing casino games online rather than the availability of the more traditional casino games, but there is no doubt both types of game have played their part.

It is also important that we don’t forget the part that the game of bingo has played in the development of online casino gambling. Far more people in Ireland were playing bingo on a regular basis before the advent of online casinos than there were going to a real casino, and although attendance at the bingo clubs had suffered significantly from the introduction of the smoking ban the game itself remained extremely popular. In fact bingo was one of the first online casino games to be featured on specialised internet sites because playing online bingo had proved so popular, and there are now several online bingo platforms where bingo fans can play almost twenty hours a day if they wish.

When we are discussing how the development of online casinos has led to the introduction of specialised platforms dedicated to just one casino game, we should also look at the ever increasing popularity of the numerous online poker platforms which are now available to serious poker players. Of all the traditional casino games which have seen a surge in interest as a result of the introduction of online casinos, it is the game of poker which has benefitted most. From very small beginnings in Ireland when poker was only really played amongst groups of friends at someone’s house, it has grown to be one of the most popular casino games played online. The number of people in Ireland playing poker regularly at one of the specialist online poker forums has grown dramatically and shows no sign of slowing down. Even many of the big poker tournaments such as the Irish Open which used be the preserve of professional poker players are now oversubscribed as more and more serious amateurs try to get involved. Every online casino site offers several versions of poker among their range of casino games, all of which can be played against the house for fixed odds, but most of the specialist online poker now concentrate on the Texas Hold’em format of the game. Most of us have seen 5-card draw poker being played in almost every saloon scene featured in the old westerns we used to watch, but even though the rankings of the hands are the same Texas Hold’em is an entirely different game. The Texas Hold’em format of poker uses what are known as community cards and has far more betting rounds than 5-card draw poker, which usually results in much bigger pots for the winning hand. The multiple betting rounds associated with Texas Hold’em poker also means that the amount of money each player has to stake even to reach the showdown stage of the game is also much higher than is common in 5-card draw poker. When playing Texas Hold’em poker the minimum table stake often bears no relationship to what a player has to gamble during each hand. We have now commented in some detail on the most popular individual casino games played at our online casinos and specialist games platforms, but the advent of these sites has also allowed fans of the other traditional casino games such as baccarat, backgammon and craps to experience the enjoyment these games provide in casinos across the world. All of these traditional casino games are commonly available in the big casinos in the rest of Europe and of course in America, but have never been available here in Ireland.