When it comes to online and land based casinos, there are a lot of differences. These differences are sometimes subtle and sometimes they are not. Obviously, a land based casino is one where you must get out of your house, drive to a gambling institution, and physically place chips and cards in order to win money. An online casino is much more accessible and only requires that you roll out of your bed and have your credit card information handy. This article will review some of the important differences between the two types of casinos and what should be taken into consideration when deciding between the two.

First of all, and most importantly, is to consider the security of each type of casino. When you are dealing with high bets and large winnings, you want to make sure that you are taking the right steps so that you don't get cheated out of your money by scam artists. Land based casinos offer much more safety when it comes to large stakes gambling because there is always an insurance company that backs them no matter what the loss. Land based casinos also have quite the security system set up to hinder anyone who would try and steal money or cheat other bettors. Another plus, is that you actually get to hold onto your money (or chips) and you get to see where they are put, so you know if your money is being taken from you.

In an online casino you are vulnerable to hackers no matter how secure the software may be. Some online casinos have regulations that are set on betting limits so as to try and protect their consumers but that can only go so far. Online casinos are continually working to make their programs and software safer so that online gamblers feel comfortable placing large bets while going for the big pots.

Payout percentages are also different among land based and online casinos. Land based casinos have large maintenance and overhead fees while online casinos do not. This discrepancy is most obviously displayed in slot payouts. Land based casinos know it takes a lot of money to keep all of their machines operating so they usually have a much smaller payout connected to these machines. Online casinos, on the other hand, have little to know machine maintenance for slots and can risk higher payouts in order to attract more customers. These online slots usually give out much larger prizes and require fewer deductions in order to participate.

One other thing to note about online and land based casinos is the taxation that is involved. Contrary to popular belief, taxation applies to both kinds of gambling. Many people think they can gamble online and not have to pay any taxes on their winnings but this is not true (that is assuming, of course, that people are being honest in their tax reporting). Online gambling is also subject to taxation and should be reported. While it is not as strictly monitored as is land based gambling, the same rules still definitely apply. Professional gamblers have an edge in that they can net their earnings and profits, but for the rest of us it would still be considered "other income" and would need to be reported on our yearly taxes.