Casinos and gambling are legal in the United Kingdom, and they are regulated by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). The gambling industry is quite significant in the UK, and a large number of people play different casino games both online and offline. The Gross Gambling Yield in the country rose from British Pounds 8.4 billion in 2011 to British Pounds 14.4 billion in 2018.
Like everywhere else, the craze of physical casinos in the UK has significantly waned over the years. But that has not diminished the overall casino business. Instead, it has steadily grown with the rising popularity of online casinos.
As online casinos are available on desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones (both Android and IOS), a large number of UK residents are now playing online casino games. Online casinos offer a wide range of games, and some of these games, like Poker, Blackjack, Roulette, and Slot machine games, are extremely popular.
Casino games are a little biased towards the House as you probably have the experience, but they can offer a great gaming experience with thrill and excitement thrown in. These are the kinds of games that you may never feel bored with. They are so many and so diverse in range and taste.
Then, there are games which are popular with more seasoned casino players. These games include Baccarat, Pai Gow Poker, Red Dog, War.
Online casino games are available under different categories. These include:
Slot Machines
Under the slot machine category, games with 3-reel, 5-reel, 6-reel, and a mixed number of reels are available.
Table Games
Under table games, Roulette, French Roulette, European Roulette, American Roulette, Multiplayer Roulette, Baccarat, Blackjack, Pai Gow poker
Specialty Games
You can find games such as Craps, Keno, Wheel of Fortune, and Sic Bo under specialty games.
Poker
This is one of the most popular online casino games in the UK. The games include Texas Hold ‘Em, Stud, Razz, Omaha, Five-card draw.
Video poker games
Different video poker games are available on online casinos. They include Aces and Eights, Bonus Deuces Wild, All American Poker, Bonus Poker, Deuces Wild, Double Bonus Poker, Bonus Poker Deluxe, Double Double Bonus Poker, Double Jackpot Poker, Double Double Jackpot Poker, Jacks or Better, Loose Deuces, Joker Poker, Mystery Bonus Poker, Sevens Wild, Pick’em Poker.
Scratch cards
Lucky 8’s, European Slot Poker, 5 Diamond Blackjack, Hot Dice, Magic 7’s, Treasure Tree
Bingo games
Games with 90 balls, 80 balls, 75 balls, 30 balls are available.
In this article, we will discuss some of the most popular online casino games in the UK.
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Poker
Poker is one of the most popular gambling games in the United Kingdom. It is a card game played with a 5-card hand. Different configurations of cards have different rankings that determine winners and losers. The rankings from the highest to the lowest go as follows: royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight cards, three of a kind, two pair, pair, and high card. The player who has the highest ranking in any given hand wins. There are different versions of poker available in online casinos. These include 5-card stud, 5-card draw, 7-card stud, Omaha Hold’em, Texas Hold’em, Razz, and Pineapple.
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Slot machine games
Slot games are played on machines manufactured for gaming purposes. Online slot games are very popular. It is straightforward to play as you bet on a chosen pattern of symbols available on the screen. The machine has 3 to 5 wheels that spin when you insert the coin and ask it to play by pressing a key or pulling a handle, depending on how the system takes the command. When the wheels stop, they give a pattern of symbols that decide your prize money. The slot machines have many different types of games and payouts based on the same wheels and patterns.
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Roulette
Roulette is another very popular online casino game in the United Kingdom. It is a table game with that famous spinning disk with black and red divisions marked with numbers from 1 to 36. The disk revolves around its base bowl while a small ball is spun on the disk. The players play with chips bought from the casino. They put the chips on the roulette table as per where they want to put their wager on the spinning disk. The table has the same 1 to 36 plus a 00 marking in the case of European roulette and two 00s in the American version of the game. There are many ways you can choose to wager. These options are red-black, even-odd, low 18-high 18, first/second/third columns, and low/middle/high 12. There are more betting options, such as cross betting. The dealer spins the wheel and also rolls the ball. The wheel is spun in a clockwise direction while the ball is spun in a counter-clockwise direction. When the wheel and the ball stop, all the wagers correspond to the number and color where the ball stopped win. A few moments before spinning the wheel, the dealer announces that no more wagers can be put. After the wheel stops, the dealer identifies the winners. The remaining wagers go to the House.
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Wheel of Fortune
This is an easier version of a wheel game. The players are required to place their bet on a game table marked with symbols. The wheel has 52 equal sections separated by pins at the edge. There is a pointer attached to it that does not move when the wheel is moved. After the players have placed their bets, the wheel is spun, and when it stops, the pointer indicates the winning number. All bets put on that number wins.
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Bingo
Bingo is a very easy and popular online casino game. Here, the players buy cards having a set of randomly selected numbers in a 5×5 matrix. Each column of the numbers is represented by one letter of the word B-I-N-G-O. The middle square on the BINGO number chart is usually a free square. This means it is supposed to have the number that a player may be missing to form a pattern. There is a caller who rolls out a bingo ball, which is marked with a number. If the player has the number on his card, he will mark it. The caller will again roll out a ball with a number, and the process will go on until a player is able to form a pattern, mostly a straight line, with the marked numbers on his card. When someone is able to have the five marked numbers in a line – horizontal, vertical, or diagonal, he calls out Bingo. His card is checked, and if his claims are accurate, he is declared the winner.
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Blackjack
Blackjack is one of the most popular casino card games in the United Kingdom. Even though there can be many players, each of them is playing against the dealer. The game’s objective is to get 21 points, but not more than this, by adding the cards’ value. The Ace of Spades has 1 or 11 points based on what suits the player. The King has 12 points, and the cards from 2 to 10 have a value equal to their number. The game has quite a few subsidiary rules that make it more interesting than other games. The game begins with players putting their bet. The dealer distributes two cards to each of the players and keeps two for himself. The players’ cards are face up while the dealer’s cards are one face-up and the other face-down. If a player is able to get 21 numbers (Ace of the spades + King), he wins straightway and is called a blackjack. If no one has 21 points, the player can choose to hit or stay by tapping the table or waving the hands. Based on what a player chooses, the dealer will and will not give him a new card. The moment someone gets 21 points, he wins. But the moment someone crosses 21 points, he loses his bet to the dealer.
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Pai Gow Poker
Unlike Poker, Pai Gow Poker is an online casino game played against the house. The dealer offers seven cards to each player as well as himself in rotation. The players have a look at their cards and try to make the best two poker hands of 5 cards and 2 cards. The 2-card hand must rank lower than the 5-card hand. The hands are compared with the dealers’ hands. For a player to win, he must beat the dealer with both hands. If the player loses both hands against the dealer, he loses the game. If both the player and the dealer win one hand each, it is a push.
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Baccarat
Baccarat is one of those online casino games that attract most of the high rollers. It’s a card game where the player is pitted against the dealer. The game has its origin in France. There is a score based on the cards in hand, and the one who has the higher score wins. You can place a wager on both the dealer and the player. In any casino game, the edge is always in favor of the House, so it is smarter to bet on the House than on the player. Baccarat is very popular in physical casinos in Macau and elsewhere in Asia. Online casinos also offer Baccarat to their guests. Typically, Baccarat tables have unusually very high limits.
Some other notable games include:
- Scratch cards: This is just what it says. You scratch the card and see the number. You win what the scratch cards say.
- Keno: For all those people who love numbers, Keno is perhaps the best online casino game for them
- Arcades: Arcade online casino games are played on slots but with more player interaction.
How to play online casino games
There are reputed online casinos in UK, and most of these casinos give bonuses on joining. This allows you to play the games even without depositing any money or if it is a match bonus to play with an extra amount of money. After you have become familiar with the process and want to bet and win real money, you can make a deposit. Most online casinos offer a matching bonus on the first few deposits. This means you can play for up to GB£200 if you have made a deposit of GB£100.
Besides, different promotion schemes are going on all the time. If you are interested in playing online casinos, you can play a lot longer by using the bonuses. If you want to play casino games just for fun, you can also do that on most online casinos.
Be careful of dubious online casinos
With online casinos becoming hugely popular worldwide, a large number of online casinos are operating in the UK as well. But before you sign up with any of them and start playing, you should make a thorough inquiry about their genuineness. A significant problem with online casinos is that most of them are registered in some nondescript locations. They don’t seem to have licenses from any major country. For online casinos that want to operate in Great Britain, they need a license from UKGC, which would give its approval only after verifying important details and ensuring that frauds and scams will not hit customers. However, some dubious online casinos try to offer their services to UK residents without a proper license despite such legal restrictions. You should be wary of such entities and never deposit them.
Online casinos are very popular in Great Britain. Luckily, the UK has a gambling commission that works as an industry watchdog and regulator. This has ensured only trustworthy and reputed online casinos operate in the country. In this article, we have listed some most popular online casino games with relevant details. You can join an online casino and try out these games for fun first.
