In this casino guide you will:
Get an introduction to online casinos Learn how casino offers can be a profitable part of Matched Betting Get used to fundamental casino terms Understand how you can get started with casino offersAn introduction to online casinos
Traditional casinos have been, for decades, a popular destination for casual gamblers, stag parties and nights out.
Las Vegas is one of the top tourist spots in the US where millions of people chase the dream of a big win every day.
The introduction of online casinos has increased the popularity of this form of gambling as it has become much easier and accessible. You can now play every type of casino game without leaving the comfort of your own home.
Most casino games that are available in online casinos are very straightforward and are based on luck rather than skill. An example of this is the slot machine. It’s an easy game to follow as you only have to push one button. But at the same time you have no influence on the outcome.
In terms of Matched Betting, casino offers can be a bit daunting at first, especially as they are not risk-free.
That’s why I have put together this introductory guide. It is meant to help you get started and address some of your initial concerns and questions.
I recommend that you practise before playing with real money to ensure you fully understand the rules. There are many sites online where you can play for free and various online casinos also have a practice section. At the end of this article there is a link to a good site where you can try out blackjack, roulette etc. without risking any of your own money.
Why do casinos give away bonuses?
Just like with sports betting, casinos will try and attract your business by offering a range of offers.
This is to give you a chance to try the different games on offer, with the hope that you like them so much that you want to continue playing even without an offer.
Read my guide “Is a casino offer worth doing?” to ensure you only do casino offers that have a positive Expected Value (EV).
What casino games are available online?
All of them. Think of any casino game that you know of and it will be available online. In addition to the traditional casino games blackjack, roulette and poker, you will also find a range of less traditional games like scratch cards, slot machines and bingo.
Wallets
You can usually use the money you have in your bookmaker account to play all available casino games.
So, if you have €20 in your account you can use it to place a bet in the sportsbook section or in the casino section. If you are able to spend your account balance in any of the types of section i.e. sportsbook and casino, it’s called a ‘shared wallet’.
The other option is that you will have separate wallets for the sportsbook and the casino. This means that even if you have €20 in your sportsbook wallet you cannot play any casino games until you have either deposited money into your casino wallet or transferred money from your sportsbook wallet. This type of wallet is a bit annoying as you have to move money around to play. I prefer to transfer money from my sportsbook into the casino wallet to do an offer and then transfer it back immediately after, so I have all my money in one wallet. However, you are of course free to do it the way you prefer.
Different sections of the online casinos
Some online casinos have different sections. The below example is from Ladbrokes.
Often different sections of the online casino will have different offers, so make sure to check them all. Also, it is important to note that you cannot always use an offer from e.g. the “casino” section in the “slots” section.
Live casino
Most casinos have a live section. In this section you will actually play the games live via video footage as opposed to the video graphics. In this case there is a real person dealing the cards or spinning the roulette wheel.
You have limited time to place your bets and choose whether you want another card or not so I recommend to only play in the live casino once you have become familiar with online casinos.
Getting disconnected mid-game
While playing a casino game, it can happen that you lose the connection with the casino server. Although annoying, it’s nothing to worry about. Most likely an error message pops up to tell you that you have lost the connection.
If this happens you can first try and refresh the page. If that doesn’t work, close down the page and open it again. The game is saved on the casino server, so it should automatically restart where you lost the connection.
If, for some reason, things look different, e.g. the game didn’t restart where you left off, contact live chat or customer support and explain what happened. They are normally quick to help rectify the problem.
How can casino offers be classified as Matched Betting?
Matched Betting is not gambling, so how can casino offers be classified as Matched Betting?
It is important to understand that casino offers are not risk-free. If you play any casino game you will lose in the long run as the casinos have the mathematical advantage, also called House Edge. Sure, some people will win some money, but the majority will lose. This is gambling. In that sense it is not different than placing a bet at a bookmaker, which is also gambling.
However, as with sport bets, the competition between online casinos is fierce and they will entice you to use their services by offering bonuses. This is how a Matched Bettor will turn the house edge in their favour. As with sports betting, we will only play a casino game if there is an offer and if the odds, i.e. mathematical advantage, are in our favour.
It may sound very complicated, but in reality, it isn’t. DoppelWetten has created a calculator that tells us whether we should do a casino offer or not.
But first some important casino terms.
Fundamental casino terms
Wagering requirement (WR)
When considering a casino offer it is very important to note the wagering requirement. This works just like with sports offers and is basically the amount of money you must play before you can turn the bonus into cash and withdraw your money.
As with the sports offers the wagering requirement is linked to the size of the bonus. Let’s say you receive a bonus of €10 with a WR of X1. This means you have to play €10 before you can withdraw your money. A WR of X10 would, on the other hand, mean you would have to play through €100 before withdrawing etc.
As always make sure you read the Terms and Conditions before accepting an offer.
House Edge
The House Edge is a term used to describe the mathematical advantage that the casino has over the people playing any of their casino games. This margin of favour is how the casinos make money as it is an assured percentage of profit.
Here is an example with a slot machine.
Slot machines on average have a House Edge of around 5%. This means that for every €100 played on this slot machine it will pay out €95 to the players and the casino will make €5 profit.
This, of course, is an average over time as some people will win big, but most people will lose.
Return to Player (RTP)
Return to Player or RTP is a different way of representing the House Edge. It is a term used to describe the percentage of the wagered money that will be paid back to the players over time. In the slot machine example above, the RTP percentage is 95%. It means exactly the same as above, i.e. that for every €100 that are wagered on the slot machines, 95% are paid out to the players and the casino makes a profit of 5%. The RTP is a useful indicator when deciding if a slot offer is worth doing. However, it should be noted that the RTP percentage is based on a long period of time and large number of plays and does not guarantee a certain outcome in the short term.
Expected value (EV)
When we know the Wagering Requirement and House Edge or Return to Player percentage, we can calculate the Expected Value of a specific offer.
This is very important as the Expected Value is what tells us if an offer is worth doing or not. Basically, the Expected Value is the amount of money that mathematically, we can expect to return from an offer. With a positive Expected Value, we would expect to make money from the offer, and with a negative Expected Value, we would expect to lose money.
It is important to keep in mind that this is the theoretical return of an offer and that casino offers are not risk-free. However, if you keep doing offers with a positive Expected Value, you should make money in the long run.
Check out my guide “Is a casino offer worth doing?”, where I show you how to calculate the Expected Value.
Variance
The reason casino offers are not risk-free and why we cannot be certain to make money from an offer with a positive Expected Value is because of variance.
Over time the mathematical probability will get close to or equal the Expected Value. This means that if you have an offer with an Expected Value of €5, over time and playing through the same offer a very large number of times you will get close to the Expected Value. However, the first time you do the offer you may lose and the next you may win.
What we can do as Matched Bettors is to minimise our risk. This is best done by playing the minimum stakes on the casino game you play when doing an offer. For example, by playing 400 spins at €0,25 on a slot machine you minimise the variance (and as such the risk) compared to playing 100 spins at €1. The first option will take up more of your time though.
Hence, when you do slot machine offers it is always recommended to do “min stakes and max lines”. This basically means play the lowest stake possible with the maximum amount of win lines. Win lines are the lines on a slot machine that will pay out a win.
Where to start?
Most online bookmakers also have an online casino section. Log into one of your bookmaker accounts and navigate to the online casino section.
Just take a look without actually playing. See what games they offer and whether it is possible to try out some of the games without playing with real money.
If you have never played any casino games before I suggest you start by playing a few free games either on your online casino account or at https://wizardofodds.com/play/
The easiest casino games for beginners are roulette and slot machines. However, the casino game with the lowest House Edge is Blackjack. I therefore suggest that you print the basic Blackjack strategy (see my guide ‘The Perfect Blackjack Strategy’) and play for free until you feel confident enough to try an offer.
Don’t forget that variance is a huge factor when playing casino games so keep trying even if you don’t make a profit on your first offer.
Further guides
Under the casino section in the offer guides on DoppelWetten you will find a number of guides. It is recommended that you read through all of those before starting any offer.
Is a casino offer worth doing?
The perfect Blackjack guideAs always, please ask in the Forum if you have any questions.
Play responsively
Online casinos are carefully designed to make you gamble. You will constantly be bombarded with “promises” of big payouts and massive jackpots. It is easy to succumb and play a few more hands or spins after you have completed an offer. That is especially the case if you have lost money on that offer.
Once you have completed an offer, STOP, regardless of the outcome.
Read my guide to avoid gambling here: https://doppelwetten.com/knowledge-base/avoid-gambling/
