The lack of an actual casino in Ireland can be an issue for some

Well that’s St Patricks Day over for another year and let’s hope you are not nursing a headache after the celebrations. There will be those who are taking the day off today and perhaps they wish they could go and play at a casino Ireland does not have. Ireland is well endowed with many forms of entertainment which attracts tourists from all over the world but the one thing missing is a proper casino where folk can have fun and possibly a drink and something to eat while fulfilling their passion for gambling. Virtually every country in Europe has casinos, some of which are privately owned but many of which have some form of state sponsoring which has probably more to do collecting the tax from the income than the wish to provide entertainment. For Irish casino players this lack of a casino is not a real issue as there is plenty of opportunity to play casino games at any of the many online casinos which are available but there is still no way an online casino can truly compete with the ambiance at an actual casino. Even the live casino option, available at nearly all online casinos, only goes part way to replicating the excitement and noise of an actual casino.

The live casino does use real dealers instead of the random number generator which some consider a benefit but whether that increases your chances of winning is an unanswered question but it does not enable you to participate in the pleasure or disappointment of watching other players as they go through the highs and lows of casino play. Although having no casino Ireland has one of the most relaxed approaches to online casinos operating in the country. If an online casino has a license issued by any other European country than they can operate in Ireland. Compare this to the UK where regardless of having a European issued license, online casinos still have to acquire a license from the UK Gambling Commission. It should be added that this has little to do with protecting UK players but more to do with the fact that the UK Government has seen an opportunity to increase tax revenues. All online casinos are based in overseas territories that are known for low taxation so that regardless of the location of a player, tax is paid in the low tax territory. These countries have become online gaming specialists which in the case of Malta and Gibraltar create an industry which is probably second only to tourism and therefore a major contributor to their economy. The UK considers this unfair and has therefore passed laws which require an online casino wishing to operate in the UK to have a separate license and part of that license says that online casinos must separate out UK players and pay UK taxes on the income generated from those players. Out of interest, the best known online gambling operator in Ireland Paddy Power is no exception to this rule having their online casino operations based in Gibraltar.

Having a great choice of online casinos is of course good but then the question arises about where to play. The most important thing is to know that the online casino chosen has the correct license in place and is operated in a recognised jurisdiction. As already stated, Malta and Gibraltar are probably the two best known but others include the Isle of Man and Alderney. Another important factor in ensuring fair casino games is that online casino uses recognised casino software. Online casinos do not write their own casino software these days preferring instead to use specialist companies, the largest of which are probably  NetEnt, Microgaming and Playtech although there are plenty of others which are perfectly respectable companies but smaller in size. It is of course the casino software which is going to determine which casino games you choose but as several online casinos can use the same casino software yu will be able to find the same games in different places. This means that just the software is not enough to make decisions about where to play. You will have noticed that online gambling companies advertise heavily but that is mostly for sports gambling and Bingo. Advertisements for online casinos do appear but are less frequent. The purpose of this advertising is to attract new players rather than to encourage existing players to play more so most of that advertising is around bonuses which are available for signing up. At an online casino this bonus is usually in the form of an amount of cash which matches 100% the first ever deposit of the new player. This can sometimes be extended to second or even third deposits but in that case will be at a lower percentage. This all sounds great but there are, of course, terms and conditions attached and these can be fairly arduous. The most common T and Cs say that before any of the bonus money or proceeds from that money can be withdrawn, the whole of the bonus must be staked 40 times. If €100 was deposited and €100 received as a bonus then you will need to stake €4000 before anything can be withdrawn. As an added hurdle only certain casino games will count towards the requirement which mostly means casino slots or video slots. This is not a reason not to accept a bonus if it is offered but it is not the free money it might at first appear. The other issue is that this is a one off and once you have registered and used the bonus that’s it.

There is a good alternative at No Bonus Casino where instead of a bonus the online casino gives cash back if you lose. This is much simpler than casino bonuses that require you to stake amounts of cash as all it states is that if you make a deposit into your online casino account and somehow manage to lose it all on the same day then 10% will be refunded the very next day. The refined cash is yours immediately and the offer is available to every player on every deposit made.