In the past, playing online slots on a desktop was the only worthwhile way to enjoy your casino games, unless you wanted to give yourself a purposefully bad time at the casinos. But as smartphones have equaled and even surpassed the processing power of many home computers, the difference between desktop and mobile gaming has started to blur.
In most cases this is a brilliant thing to happen, as it gives even more choice to players than they’ve ever had before. On the other hand, the question remains: should you play your casino games on desktop or mobile? And are there even any meaningful differences anymore? In this guide, we’ll fill you in on the pros and cons you’ll find between desktop and mobile casino gaming.
Mobile Games Run Just As Well As Desktop… Depending On Your Mobile
As mentioned previously, mobile performance has shot up in the last few years, both in terms of their processing power and the speed of mobile internet. Anyone who keeps their mobile up to date within a few years will probably not notice a difference between their time mobile or desktop casino gaming.
But play with a mobile a few years past its prime and the difference becomes extremely noticeable. Performance is the most striking difference, but smaller factors like mobile internet become a problem if you’re playing on the go. Many old mobiles don’t have access to higher internet speeds, so even in an age of 4G, your mobile might be only able to achieve a 3G internet connection.
Most slot developers have primarily only focused on catering to the most up to date mobile players, creating slots which become more visually impressive year on year. Depending on which mobile phone you use, you’ll either have an incredibly slick experience, or have a horrible series of jittery and lagging spins, as your phone struggles to not only render the slot in a playable fashion, but may even struggle to load the slot on an aged internet speed.
Head back a few years on a desktop however and you’ll have a similar experience on whatever you play. Desktops have always been well ahead of the curve when it comes to processing power and have been able to connect to high speed broadband for over a decade, so no modern slot is likely to give even an aging desktop any issue.
The primary issue with mobile gaming compared to desktop gaming is that mobiles offer a greater array of choices when it comes to your performance, whereas desktops are all very capable of handling any kind of browser based slot you throw at them. As long as your phone is up to date, then you’ll have no issue, but if you have a mobile that’s getting on in years, you might want to give some of the newer slots a miss until you upgrade.
Mobile App Gaming Beats Browser Based Gaming Every Time
Developers have been continuing to improve and optimise their mobile casino games over the past few years, and mobile players are at a point where their mobile slots can offer the most streamlined performance of any platform.
As mentioned above, desktop slots will always play pretty fluidly, with the internet speeds and the processing power of any desktop offering more than enough resources to handle any slot. But if you want a truly optimised experience, then nothing beats a casino game played in an app.
Many slot developers and casinos now allow their slot games to be downloaded as an individual app. Instead of accessing the entire casino library from a browser or in a casino’s app, players can download slot games individually and play them like they would any other mobile based game.
The issue for desktop players and mobile players that play their slots in a browser, is that each game is subject to any issues or bugs that their browser is also subject to. Browser based gamblers don’t have to worry about just the game itself having an issue, but they also have to be prepared for any issues that may arise with the casino itself or possibly even the browser they’re using.
If a slot requires flash, but their browser is no longer compatible with Flash, then their game will run poorly, or simply not run at all. Each browser, whether it be Safari, Google Chrome or Firefox, each comes with their own issues which can affect any casino games you play using them.
But when you play a slot using a mobile app, that app has been built from the ground up, with any bugs and issues ironed out, so as long as the app is well designed, it’ll provide the experience it was built to give. App gaming has always been more stable, so if you’re the kind of player who wants the ultimate casino gaming experience, then a mobile app is the only way to play at your casino.
More Games To Play On Mobile…
Mobile players will be very happy to discover that overall, there are more casino games available on mobile. Live casino games have started to emigrate over to mobiles within the past few years, and the sudden emergence of mobile only casinos which host their own exclusive games have all added to the huge library of mobile games on offer.
Mobile players now have a variety of games to choose from that they haven’t been able to enjoy in previous years, with every single genre of casino game now available on mobile. With the added benefit of mobile exclusive games, mobile casino gamers have easily the largest library of games to play out of any casino user.
…But There Are More Casinos To Play On Desktop
Any casino which doesn’t offer a mobile version of their site is sure to be dead in the water within the next few years. Mobile casino gaming is on the rise and it’s inevitable that the market will begin to favour casinos which can support both desktop and mobile players as the number of mobile users continues to increase.
However, many casinos haven’t made the leap and it’s even the case that while some casinos have got a mobile version of their casino, it pales in comparison to the features that their desktop version is host to.
Of course, the sheer number of very well optimised and supported mobile casinos makes finding excellent places to play on your mobile a non-issue. However, it’s still the case that some very good casinos still haven’t quite found their feet when it comes to supporting their mobile players, potentially limiting the possible casinos for you to play at if you don’t have a desktop as an option.
Different Promotions Depending On Your Platform
There are some possible factors outside the games which will affect which platform you should play on. This will be a case by case basis and something you’ll have to check each individual casino for, but which platform you play your casino games on can affect which promotions and bonuses you are able to access.
You should always read the terms and conditions before you take part in any promotion, or players might be shocked about some of the nastier surprises they’ll run into. Casinos can restrict if bonuses are handed out depending on if the player deposited using the mobile or desktop version of the site. Wagering on different versions of games may or may not count towards wagering requirements and some casinos may reward you more bonuses for playing on certain platforms.
At the end of the day, these added restrictions and rewards are handed out depending on which version of their site that the casino prefers its players to game on. It’s just always best to remember to check out any promotional T&Cs to make sure you’re one step ahead of the game and not getting ripped off for simply wanting to play on your preferred platform, whether that be mobile or desktop.
