Online casinos are online versions of traditional casinos . Online casinos enable gamblers to play and wager on casino games through the Internet .They are also know as virtual casinos or internet casinos.

Reliability and trust issues are a major concern. Many online casinos lease or purchase their software from well-known companies. These software companies (but some casino software has been proven to cheat) use random number generators to ensure that the numbers, cards or dice appear randomly.

Virtual casinos can be divided into three groups based on their interface: Web-based Casinos, Download-based Casinos, and Live Casinos. Some casinos offer multiple interfaces.

Web-based online casinos

These are websites where users may play casino games without downloading software to the local computer. Games are mainly represented in the browser plug ins like Macromedia Flash ,Macromedia Flash , or Java and require browser support for these plug ins.

Download-based online casinos

Download-based online casinos require the download of the software client in order to play and wager on the casino games offered. The online casino software connects to the casino service provider and handles contact without browser support. Download-based online casinos generally run faster than web-based online casinos since the graphics and sound programs are located within the software client, rather than having to be loaded from the Internet.

Live-based casinos

Live-based casino gaming is a way to interface with a real world casino while playing online. Recent advancements in communication technology now allow land-based casinos to open a real-time window via the web for players to game tables in an interactive, live environment. With live gaming players can see, hear, and interact with live dealers at tables in physical casinos worldwide.

Games offered

Games usually offered at an online casino might include:

Blackjack

Baccarat

Craps

Roulette

Slot Machines

Video Poker

Online casinos generally offer odds and payback percentages that are comparable to land-based casinos. Some online casinos claim higher payback percentages for slot machine games, and some publish payout percentage audits on their websites.

Many online casino offers new players a deposit matching bonus of 100%, up to $100.This would mean that a player depositing $100 would start with $200 in his account. source: wikipedia