Most online casinos offer you a choice between download and instant play / no download casinos. In order to make an informed decision, you need to know what exactly the differences are between these two. There are advantages and disadvantages to both, and often it comes down to what works best for you and your computer.
Download Casinos
As you might have guessed, download casinos require you to download all of the free software consisting of all of the games, from the website onto your hard drive. However, to actually wager you will need to connect to the casino’s server through the Internet. The games run on your computer, but the financial outcomes need to be recorded on the actual website.
Instant Play Casinos
In contrast, instant play casinos, also known as no download casinos at real money bingo sites, do not require you to download any software. After logging in, you play directly on the website and everything occurs there. These may seem simpler than download casinos, but they do have their disadvantages.
Instant Play Casinos: Advantages
One of the main advantages of instant play is that you can play at as many as you like, and keep your system and hard drive free and uncluttered. In addition, instant play casinos really are instant: there is no lengthy setting up process – you just sign up or log in, and start playing. Instant play casinos are also compatible with a wide range of operating systems, including Windows, Mac and Linux. You can also access the casino and its games from any device that has Internet access, which gives you a lot more freedom.
Instant Play Casinos: Disadvantages
Although instant play casinos are compatible with most operating systems, they can be a struggle if your system is more than about five years old. If this is the case, you might encounter screen freezing and jerky movements of the video features in the latest feature rich games. The other disadvantages of Instant play casinos are covered under advantages of download casinos.
Download Casinos: Advantages
The first online casinos were exclusively download casinos. In the 1990s, Internet speeds were not fast enough to transmit the video features of the games, such as the spinning of the slots. This gave download casinos a head start for developing games, so when it comes to variety, download casinos offer more. In addition, once they are downloaded, games from download casinos tend to run more smoothly and faster than those on instant play casinos, particularly if you are using a relatively old operating system. This is because they do not rely on an Internet connection.
Download Casinos: Disadvantages
The wide variety of download casinos can also be a disadvantage. It makes the files to download very large. If you play at a few different download casinos, the proportion of space they take up on your hard drive can be significant. Another disadvantage is that because of their age, download casinos only work on Windows operating systems. So if you don’t use Windows, you can forget about download casinos. In addition, there are the problems that come with installing and uninstalling software. Installing the software exposes your computer to viruses, and uninstalling it can be very difficult. Lastly, you are stuck with playing on the device on which the software is installed.
Making the Decision
In fact, you don’t have to choose either download or instant play casinos and stick to it exclusively, unless you are using an operating system other than Windows. Instant play casinos are simpler, so it may be a good idea to stick to those unless they do not offer the game you want. It might also be a good idea to try them both out and see which works better on your machine. For players who want to try lots of different casinos over many different platforms, instant play casinos are best. But if you have a dodgy Internet connection, or want to play the older games, download casinos might be better for you. There is no one right answer.