If you know Betting Tips, you’ll know that we’re rather partial to the odd rant here and there. Unlike others, we don’t spend our time trying to pretend that the casino industry and everyone involved therein is perfect. And nor do we make any mistake about the fact that there are many things about the industry we don’t like.
After all, what would life be without a good satisfying dose of complaining and moaning, here and there?
The truth is, most people have something of a love-hate relationship with gambling. Focusing on the ‘love’ side of the spectrum is of course the sensible and normal thing to do, but there’s no denying the dark-side looming close by. Everyone has their own pet-peeves when it comes to casino gaming, both in terms of online casinos and traditional gaming halls.
And that’s precisely why we thought we’d take the opportunity to share with you a few of our own! Make no mistake about it – we absolutely love online gaming and couldn’t imagine life without gambling. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean there aren’t things that annoy the living daylights out of us – which include the following chart-toppers:
1. Lotteries
Just to clarify one point, we’ve nothing strictly against lotteries or what they stand for. Truth is, being able to buy a ticket for say £2 for a top prize worth millions has undeniable appeal. What’s more, lotteries collect ridiculous amounts of money each and every year to be donated to good causes at all levels.
So, why is it that lotteries don’t exactly float our collective boat? The answer – impossible odds and a total lack of entertainment. Lottery draws take no more than a few seconds to complete, after which it’s all over. And while there is at least a microscopic chance you will win a prize, the statistical likelihood of taking home anything significant is as good as zero. Odds vary from one lottery to the next, but you could easily play dozens of times a day each and every day for 20 lifetimes and it would still be almost impossible to hit the jackpot.
Yes, somebody has to win and somebody does. But given the fact that it’s about 99.99999999% likely it isn’t going to be you, all you’re setting yourself up for is frustration. So while we’d never try to put anyone else off the idea of buying lottery tickets if they wish to do so, we’d personally rather spend that weekly £10 on a few hours of classic casino gaming.
2. Bogus Review Sites
Without any shadow of doubt, our single biggest irritation currently blighting the industry is the presence and prevalence of bogus review sites. Make no mistake about it – there are thousands of them. Some of which are so convincing, you have to dig pretty deep to uncover what’s really going on.
What we’re talking about is the kind of websites we recently covered in a cautionary post. They look like genuine information websites, present all manner of reviews and give their own recommendations as to where you should spend your time and money. Unfortunately, they are 100% one sided, having either been funded by the casino itself or designed simply to make the owner of the affiliate service as much money as possible.
In both instances, they will tell you anything and everything you want to hear to get you to do what they want you to do. Even if it means being comprehensively creative with the truth and missing the most important information out of the equation. Reviews can be extremely helpful and casino marketing is important for obvious reasons. Nevertheless, advertisements that masquerade as reviews really should be driven off the face of the earth, once and for all.
3. Dodgy Online Casinos
On the plus side, there aren’t nearly as many dodgy casinos up and running these days. They certainly exist, but in comparatively limited numbers. Still, strong enough numbers to drive us completely up the wall.
To be honest, it’s so easy to identify a dodgy dealer that there’s really no excuse for getting caught in their weird and wacky webs. Nevertheless, they still do nothing other than drag the reputation of the entire industry through the mud. Which is, for obvious reasons, not a good thing for any of us.
Still, while ever so many gamers allow themselves to be fooled so easily – rather than carrying out the required research ahead of time – dodgy online casinos will continue to thrive.
4. Confusing International Laws
Not that it affects us or what we do directly, but we still find confusing and convoluted gambling laws annoying to say the least. Particularly in countries like the United States, where things not only vary significantly from one state to the next, but can also be quite contradictory.
For example, in some states gambling is 100% illegal, yet lotteries organized by the government are exempt. And in other states like Las Vegas, gambling is no less than a religion. While it’s debate we aren’t going to get into right now, our own opinions on the legality of gambling are relatively simple.
In a nutshell – shouldn’t every right-minded adult who wants to gamble be provided with the opportunity to do exactly that? In an advanced, innovative and open minded 21st century society, what exactly does any government worldwide believe it gains by making gambling illegal?
5. American Roulette
Once again, we would never try to tell anyone what they should and should not do, when it comes to choosing which casino games are right for them. Nevertheless, we personally find it difficult to understand why anybody would opt for American roulette, in any instance where European roulette was also available.
The reason being that while the house edge with a game of European roulette is 2.7%, the house edge in the American game is 5.26%. With the addition of another zero to the wheel, the house edge almost doubles. It might not seem much at first glance, but nonetheless means that in a statistical sense at least, you are liable to lose twice as much as you would playing European roulette for the same period of time.
6. Lame Slots
Last but not least, and while we won’t be naming and shaming any specific offenders for now, lame slots drive us absolutely nuts. By lame, we mean the kinds of slots that have been thrown together for pennies, feature the most pathetic amateurish graphics and have fewer special features than a digital watch from 1982. Lazy, lacking in appeal and really having no place on today’s market whatsoever.
Still, we can’t stop people from pumping good money into these slots and encouraging their respective ‘developers’ to make more of them. Feel free to do so if you wish – just know you are both making things worse and subjecting yourself to torture for no good reason!