Download Software: The Preferred Option

December 14, 2008 | Article Category: Casino Software

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When the online casino industry was launched in the mid 1990s, it was with download software. The software had to be downloaded from the online casino website and installed on the player’s hard disc. This was a one-time operation. Over the last few years, most online casinos are offering the no download software in addition to the download software. These do not require to be installed in the player’s computer but can be directly operated from the browser.

Since the download software typically takes about 10 minutes to install during fist usage the no download software was becoming popular. However most online casinos now offer the download software with a play-as-you-download feature. This enables a few popular games to be downloaded and installed immediately and the players can start real money wagering on these games while the rest of the software is being downloaded. In this manner the time disadvantage of the download software has been neutralized.

At the same time there are several advantages that the download software offers. First of all is the quantity of games on offer. Download software offers significantly more games than the no download software. Microgaming, the leading online gaming software provider, has over 350 games in its download software suite but only about 70 games in its no download software suite. This is too big an advantage to forgo. Software providers introduce new features regularly and these features enhance the gaming experience. Though all the features are available in the download software, all features are not incorporated in the no download software. Many of these features allow for customization of the playing space and therefore the download software can provide a personalized gaming environment, which is not possible in the no download software. Because the no download software uses only the browser memory it has to be restricted in size and therefore cannot incorporate all the games and all the features.

The quality of the games is also much better on the download software. The download software offers a very stable platform. All the content is on the player’s computer and only transactional information has to be sent to and from the online casino via the Internet. In the case of the no download software there is much more information that is continuously exchanged between the player’s computer and the online casino and this often creates Internet lag. Internet lag slows down the pace of the gaming and also at times causes momentary freezing thus resulting in unsatisfactory gaming experience, especially if speeds are less than the best. The no download software does not exhibit the same quality of visual and audio effects as the download software does. The graphics are not as sharp and this also detracts from the gaming experience. Therefore unless the player is a Mac or Linux user it makes little sense to go for no download software.