Bitcoin casinos are new, with most of them having opened in 2014. This means that the operators are not bogged down with legacy ideas about how the games should be delivered. Many of them are mobile-first and compatible with multiple devices. iPads make an ideal medium; your screen is big enough to enjoy the in-browser games to the full as well as any apps which might appear. Unfortunately, your choices are limited at the moment, the major software providers require a Flash-emulator to work properly, and many of the others have frustrations associated with the touch screen controls.
This page takes you through the different iPad casino games available. You’ll find the types of games available to play listed first below. These range from simple ‘dice’ type games, though to the latest 3D video slots. After this some recommended iPad BTC casinos which take in the whole range of games. At the end of the article, there is some information for how you can get started by buying and depositing Bitcoin for the first time.
Many, if not all, of the Bitcoin casino’s have a mobile version so you can play on your iPad. We’ve listed the most popular here for you.
As well as the fully featured casinos running BetSoft or (unlicensed) PlayTech software, you’ll find a lot of basic and retro type casino games which have been created by members of the Bitcoin community. The big advantage that these simple games have over the regular casinos is the ‘provable fairness’ built into their games.
This is information which can be reverse engineered by anyone who wants to check that the deck (or dice / wheel) was really randomly shuffled. This works with a random string from the game server, which is then ‘reshuffled’ using a secret number from your own device. After the hand, your secret number is revealed, and you can use online tools to verify the fairness of the original shuffle. This is a big trust factor for BTC games, especially at smaller ‘home-made’ casino type sites which are not licensed.
Bitcoin Dice: This is really a random number game, where you have control over the settings for probability. For example you will find games where you guess high or low on a scale of 1 to 100, you can choose the range yourself (over 75 for example) and the odds adjust automatically. These games come with provable fairness, and often do not need registration – automatically returning unclaimed BTC to your wallet after 30 minutes of inactivity.
Minesweeper: These games typically see you trying to get across a minefield from left to right. You can sometimes control the size of the grid and the number of mines. The probability adjusts automatically to your selection. Again, you can prove the fairness after the fact.
Scratch / Lottery: Again, many simple sites which have a home-made look and feel run lotto or even Keno type games in your browser window on your iPad. Proof of fairness and instant Bitcoin transactions are the big advantage. I would check the reputation of any site offering large jackpots closely, since many could struggle to pay out.
Roulette: You can find provably fair Roulette at several iPad BTC casinos. There are much better (graphically speaking) Bitcoin Roulette games at the licensed casinos like BitCasino, which uses the BetSoft games supplied by the CoinGaming programs. There are also Live-Dealer Roulette games which are compatible with your iPad, these are supplied via a 3rd party via the CoinGaming platform.
Other Table Games: There are too many to list in one short article. Blackjack ranges from simple (well, ugly would be a better description), yet provably fair games, through to the latest PlayTech titles – and includes many variations in between. You will also find Baccarat, Casino Poker games, simple Hi-Lo games and live dealer games to enjoy. BetSoft and PlayTech titles at the main Bitcoin casinos will need a flash emulator (for example Virtual Chrome). The SoftSwiss games at the Betchain casino did work very well.
Slots: Again we can start with the plain yet provably fair slots. These are very simple games – with an example available at the Satoshibet Casino. Two types of slots can only be found at Bitcoin casinos. These are the PlayFor platform, which has video slot games created by Bitoomba, and the SoftSwiss games which you can find at the BetChain Casino. You’ll also be able to enjoy the latest BetSoft slot titles for BTC using your iPad with a Flash emulator. The Bitoomba games have one frustration, you go straight to the slot from the lobby, and do not get to choose from ‘Practice / Play for Real’. A little work adapting better to touch screen controls would be very welcome here.
To sum things up, you can play many of the less advanced Bitcoin casino games on your iPad, though for the latest games a Flash Emulator is needed. Since the ‘home-made’ style of gaming is something that most causal gamblers would pass on – Bitcoin casinos are currently missing out on this important segment of users. Since these casinos are largely new, better iPad compatibility could easily be on their list of to-dos – let us hope it is sooner rather than later.
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