While you can take advantage of free hot chocolates when playing the pokies at land-based casinos, you miss out on incredible graphics, including 3D animations, and having access to payout information that online real money pokies offer.
The Internet has meant pokies, the term coined by Aussies, have become more accessible to players everywhere, though they may be referred to as poker machines, slots, fruit machines, and more depending on where you are located in the world.
Our team have taken a look at why playing the pokies at Internet casinos is more favourable to the player, which still offers a high quality and thrilling experience. Therefore, you have come to the right place for everything you need to know about playing the poker machines with real cash on the web.
Top-rated online pokies for real money
We prefer playing the slots online as they are more convenient, offer incredible graphics created by top leading software developers, and ultimately have a better house edge than their land-based counterparts.
Obviously, since they operate via the Internet we can access them from anywhere we have a solid connection including the comfort of our own home. So we can browse all of the slot machines by the best software developers in the industry, without having to move from the couch.
Pokies software developers behind the best graphics
While land-based casinos offer poker machines which unique themes, quality imagery, as well as classic audio, their graphics and sounds are no where near on par to online slot machines.
Both the graphics and audio are all created by software developers who pride themselves on their games’ catalogue. The following are the best pokies software developers which offer intricate detailing to their video slots, and some even have brought out their own line of 3D animated slots, which are considered the most advanced pokies available thus far.
- Microgaming
- Net Entertainment
- BetSoft
- Play’n Go
- Evolution Gaming
- Rabcat
By playing at top online casinos, such as the many we recommend below, you are ensuring you are playing poker machines created by the above software developers, which means you know what you are getting in terms of graphics. When playing land-based pokies you basically sit down at the machine and have no idea what to expect, nor whether they are of high quality until you are well and truly into the game.
Since you are playing with real money, you want to know what you are getting into before you insert your funds into the machine and that is exactly what playing the poker machines online offers.
Additionally, these software developers bring variety without sacrificing quality, and the best part is you can play anywhere you have an Internet connection.
The graphics and audio are incredibly important to enjoying the pokies as they create a sense of interactive gameplay and by playing the best of the best you will be ensuring you are getting the most out of playing the slots, but of course we want to ensure we have a fair house edge.
Slots house edge
Provided you stick to reputable online casinos which offer top leading software developers, which we mention throughout the article, you can quickly and easily find out the payout rates of each title.
All of the above software developers offer a payout rate percentage of anywhere between 93% right up to 98% which is quite high. There are generally certain requirements required to be met, such as playing the maximum paylines, but this information is easily found online, something you cannot find at land-based casinos.
When spinning the reels at land-based casinos it can be very difficult to determine the percentage rate of the poker machine you are playing. This is why we prefer playing the slots online, as we can easily determine the house edge. We have more on payout rates in association to Random Number Generators below.
Top real money pokies sites
Just as finding a good slot machine amongst the several hundred lining a brick and mortar casino floor is difficult, so too can finding quality online pokies. However, we have found the best pokies sites which only use the best software developers that we detailed above to ensure players are only offers the highest quality pokies machines.
- G’Day Casino
- Slots Million
- Royal Vegas
- Thrills
- Jackpot City
- 32 Red
- Leo Vegas
- Roxy Palace
- Guts
- 7 Sultans
- Casino-Mate
All of these top leading web casinos offer gameplay in the following currencies GBP/USD/AUD/CAD/EUR. Simply select yours when you sign up.
Random Number Generators
There has always been this myth surrounding electronic machines since they operate on Random Number Generators (RNGs), with some believing the casinos manipulate them in their favour. RNGs operate by continuously creating combinations at random and with pokies they work by determining where the reels stop at random once you hit the ‘Spin’ button.
Playing pokies at reputable Internet casinos means there are third party organisations which check in on the online casinos and the payout rates of their games. This means while you may be skeptical about playing on electronic machines at land-based casinos where you can’t easily access their payout rate or RNG information, you can void this worry when playing online.
Our reputable pokies sites have proven a solid track record in association to their RNG games by receiving an advanced gaming jurisdictional license. Additionally, some are monitored by eCOGRA, a third party auditing organisation, which allows you to view the payout rates of their pokies by clicking on the eCOGRA logo at the bottom of the web casino’s homepage.
Playing video pokies for real money and fun
Now you know where to play the pokies online and who are behind creating the best, it is important to understand you can trial these slots before using real money, which is another advantage to playing online. Additionally, pokies can be played via a downloadable format or via instant play casinos.
Free play pokies
While it is more entertaining and thrilling to play the pokies with real money, it is beneficial to try before you buy, especially if you want to learn which software developer you prefer.
Players who haven’t signed in to any of the listed online casinos can use practice credits where they can trial the pokies out. You are given quite a large sum of play money so you can test out what happens when playing the maximum bet. Once players are ready to play with real cash, simply sign up or sign into the web casino and make a deposit.
Instant and downloadable pokies
Since there are two forms of web casinos, specifically downloadable versions and instant play versions, there are two platforms slot machines need to be compatible with.
Initially, downloadable casinos were quite popular, but with advancements in technology, and the increase popularity of Apple products, which aren’t compatible with downloadable casinos, flash or instant mode casinos have become more popular.
This is why when you do come across a downloadable casino it will generally be accompanied by the instant play version as well. Microgaming casinos, including the many we have listed above, offer both downloadable and instant play casinos. Downloadable casinos require players to download the software while instant play casinos are accessed via an Internet browser, such as Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc.
There are two different catalogues when it comes to a casino that offers both a downloadable and instant play platform, and the latter offers a more limited gaming catalogue than the downloadable version. This means in order to access that casino’s entire catalogue of pokies you will need to download the software. However, the instant play catalogue still offers a large array of pokies.
It is important to note that in order to play downloadable pokies you will need a PC, as a Mac won’t work, as well as a fairly new computer with lots of storage in order for gameplay to be smooth. Otherwise stick to instant play pokies.
There is one more platform to play pokies on, known as HTML 5, but this is for mobile devices only.
Smartphone and tablet pokies
While playing the pokies online is convenient, playing them on our portable devices is even more so. Online operators have created mobile-friendly versions of their casinos for players to access via smartphone or tablets and thus software developers release some of their games, including pokies, to be compatible using HTML 5 flash technology.
While the number of games are limited in comparison to their desktop counterparts, the number or mobile pokies available is increasing. We have listed the best mobiles devices to play the pokies on below.
- Apple iPhones and iPads
- Android smartphones and tablets, such as Samsung and Nexus devices
- Blackberry devices
Safety of online real money pokies
Security is integral when making deposits at pokies sites as we are using real cash. While we want to gamble on the slots, we don’t want to gamble on whether or not the web casino will disappear.
That’s why we recommend the above casinos to play the pokies at since they all implement the latest modern encryption technology which ensures secure transactions.
Additionally, they are all licensed by advanced gaming jurisdictions with third party organisations regularly reviewing and checking in to ensure there is no chance they will go rogue, disappear and steal your money.
Mobile devices have the same level of security too so you can play the pokies on the go and be assured your money is only going to be gambled on your favourite pokies.
Contact us
Our team at PokiesRealMoney consist of full time journalists and editors who each have a strong interest in online gaming, specifically on pokies. We have trialled many pokies sites ourselves, even the bad ones, to share only the best with our readers.
If you have any question regarding online pokies, or just want to ask a general question about our site or team send us an email to [email protected].