Casino: Entertainment or an Actual Side Income?
The internet has presented many individuals and groups with the opportunity to earn some extra income. Be it the ease through which music can be uploaded to sites like Bandcamp or freelance opportunities for writing copy, access to revenue has never seemed simpler and more abundant.
Some people will argue that casinos (either land-based casinos or online casinos) can be a great way for you to earn a side income, whereas others will argue that casino gambling should never be seen as an alternative method for making additional cash.
Here is a closer look at whether casino gambling should be viewed as a form of entertainment or as a way to make money.
Can You Make a Side Income From Playing Games at Casinos?
The one thing you have to remember about gambling at a casino is that the house always wins. That’s not to say that people don’t ever win. In fact, lots of people have become rich after winning big at casinos, and if they’re really clever, they will use the money wisely to invest in other, more important, things rather than blowing it all on gambling. In short, you cannot make a side income from gambling at casinos.
Saying that, if you keep on getting lucky and end up winning more often than you lose, you can consider yourself one of the extremely fortunate ones. If you do keep winning, you may potentially be able to make small amounts of money that you can keep on cashing out.
For example, let’s just say that you sign up to an online casino and deposit $/€/£50 (or equivalent currency value) on your first ever deposit. If you end up winning $250 from your initial $/€/£50 deposit, you could cash out the $/€/£200 winnings and leave the remaining $/€/£50 for another day so that you don’t have to make another deposit.
If you end up winning another, say $/€/£60, which means that your online casino account balance is now $/€/£110, you could repeat the process; i.e., withdraw the $/€/£60 winnings and leave the remaining $/€/£50 in your account again for when you next return to the casino.
Are There Any Controls to Stop People From Overspending at Casinos?
At today’s best online casinos that are controlled by reputable operators with proven track records, there are several ‘safer gambling tools’ you can take advantage of to help you better manage your bankroll and stay more in control of how much money you spend. Some of the most useful safer gambling tools are:
- Setting deposit limits
- Setting spending limits
- Setting session time limits
- Having a time out if things are getting too much and self-excluding altogether
Despite the fact that casinos should NEVER, EVER be considered as a way to earn money, but more like a nice way of spending your free time, you can still find some best gambling sites for winning the real money.
How to Get the Most Out of Your Time at an Online Casino
In addition to the better bankroll management and responsible gambling tools mentioned above, there are several other proven ways for you to consider so that you can get the most out of your time when you next play at an online casino. For example, before you risk losing any of your own hard-earned cash on a game that you may not like, it might be a good idea to try and launch the game in the free play demo mode (aka the practice mode), just to get a feel for the game. There’s nothing worse than losing money on a game that you don’t like.
If you do enjoy playing it in the practice mode, only then should you consider switching to playing in the real money mode. Although not all games are available in the real money mode, and not all online casinos have a free play mode, where possible, you should definitely take advantage of this useful mode as much as possible whenever it’s available. Here are some games that are generally NOT available in the real money mode:
- Live dealer casino games, such as Live Roulette, Live Blackjack, Live Baccarat, Live Casino Hold’em, Live Craps, and pretty much every other live dealer game out there today, cannot be played in the free play mode
- Progressive jackpot games, such as Microgaming’s Mega Moolah slots, Blueprint Gaming’s Jackpot King slots, IGT’s MegaJackpots slots, Red Tiger Gaming’s Daily Jackpots slots, and the vast majority of other progressive jackpot slots out there today can also usually not be played in the free play mode
Try and remember to have fun at an online casino. Don’t spend too much time playing, and do NOT treat it as a way to make a second income. It will only end in disappointment. If you win, that’s great, but don’t go thinking that you will win every time you play at the casino. Just consider yourself lucky; the next time you play, you may not be so lucky.
