Download Casino vs. Instant: Which One is Better?

Considering today’s technology it’s kinda difficult to think back of how slow the internet once was when the world massively connected to the net in the 90’ies. Upgrades in online technology made sure the world of US online casinos steadily moved from download to instant play casinos, but back in the days downloadable casinos were all that existed. Due to slow internet and heavy graphics, players didn’t have any other options than downloading every single title of the game portfolio.

Now that neither of both are an issue today any more, the key question is if download casinos are still worth it? Our guess is that you’re probably trying to decide which of the casinos is right for you, and we’re here to help you make your choice. We designed this download vs. instant casino guide to give you all the info you’ll need to know about the potential pros and cons of casino downloads vs. instant casinos. We also included a few of the best downloadable casinos in the US, so make sure you don’t miss out on our top list.

Our Top 3 Best Download Casinos

Below, we have featured 3 of the easiest casino downloads in the gambling industry. You’ll be amazed by how easily you can have these downloads installed and fully running. We also want to stress that picking the right downloadable casino makes a huge difference, so we advise you to stick to the packs we recommend as you don’t want to have any sketchy software on your laptop or computer. All our preferred sites hold a valid license, meaning that every recommended online casino on our website is completely checked for safety.

MYB Casino Review

400% up to $2,000 with ree Spins

MYB Casino offering a live dealer casino and a lot of (deposit) bonuses to make sure most players feel valued at this onli...

MYB Casino

You’re about to enter a high class society casino that offers a lot of luxury and great promo deals to start with. Slot fanatics will be pleased to find out that a big portion of its game assortment is powered by software developer Betsoft — meaning you’ll be fully blown away by all the 3D-graphics their slot machines have to offer. We consider MYB Casino an excellent choice for gamblers who prefer to use their laptop or desktop to place a bet.

RedStag Casino Review

100% Bonus up to $2,500 +up to 500 Free Spins

If you like a casino with a lot of promotions, we got right out of the gate Red Stag Casino which gives you a lot of optio...

Red Stag Casino

Red Stag Casino was launched in 2015 and gives players a very American look and feel. There are a few hundred games to play in this casino and with a 100% Bonus up to $2,500 + 500 free spins you’ll have enough reason to find out for yourself why Red Stag Casino gained so much popularity in recent years. Red Stag also offers a live dealer casino making sure the fans of traditional games like roulette and blackjack don’t miss out on all the fun.

Uptown Aces Casino Review

100% Bonus up to $8,888 +350 free spins on first 6 deposits

If you’re a slots fanatic or enjoy online table games, you should definitely give Uptown Aces Casino a good try.
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Uptown Aces Casino

This is probably one of the best organized and most user friendly downloadable casinos we’ve seen so far. At Uptown Aces’ casino it’s time to catch the cool and colorful Miami vibe. We would never ever advise our visitors to combine gambling and alcohol, but hey, a self made mojito wouldn’t be bad at all while visiting this Miami based casino. Uptown Aces Casino gives its players a chance to escape from the daily routine and relax for a bit.

Recommended Download Casinos in the US

If you’re leaning towards using downloadable casinos by now, we suggest you check out the casinos below. Here, we’ve included our top recommendations for the best download casinos in the United States. Do make sure to visit each one of these carefully selected suggestions to see which one of our picks feels like the best fit for your preferences.

1.
Wild Casino Review

250% up to $5,000 plus Free Spins

Wild Casino takes pride in its state-of-the-art gaming platform, a pool of specifically selected games, the best management and incredible user experience.

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2.
Slots Of Vegas Review

250% up to $2,500 +Free Spins

Have fun playing at Slots of Vegas for a fun and vibrant gaming experience. Plus there are over 80 free online slot games and several bonuses.

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3.
Cherry Gold Casino Review

270% Bonus +13 Free Spins on Cash Bandits 3

Have yourself a special, sweet, cherry flavoured welcome treat. Just for joining the Cherry Gold Family!

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4.
BoVegas Casino Review

550% bonus up to $5500 +21 Free Spins

Experience luxurious Las Vegas gameplay at the comfort of your own home!

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5.
RedDog Casino Review

225% Bonus +20% extra for Neosurf or BTC deposits

Hundred casino games to offer, which you can find in different categories satisfying all – or at least most – online casino players.

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6.

225% Pokies Bonus +50 Free Spins on Cash Bandits 2

Aussi Play is one of the latest launches in the world of online casinos, with many promotions and high bonuses.

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7.
Diamond Reels Casino Review

No deposit bonus

Diamond reels is the newest addition to an online casino group with over 10 years of experience and strives to produce the best in online casino entertainment.

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8.
Platinum Reels Casino Review

No deposit bonus

Platinum Reels adds more games each month, so there is always something new and exciting for everyone.


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9.
SlotoCash Casino Review

100% Bonus up to $7,777 +300 Free Spins

This casino offers a reasonable choice of real money slot machines and table games, including both old classics and new releases.

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10.
Uptown Aces Casino Review

100% Bonus up to $8,888 +350 free spins on first 6 deposits

If you’re a slots fanatic or enjoy online table games, you should definitely give Uptown Aces Casino a good try.


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11.
RedStag Casino Review

100% Bonus up to $2,500 +up to 500 Free Spins

If you like a casino with a lot of promotions, we got right out of the gate Red Stag Casino which gives you a lot of options to choose from.

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12.
Miami Club Casino Review

100% Bonus up to $100 on first 8 deposits

With a wide range of bonuses, Miami Club is a welcoming website giving players a platform to max out the benefits.

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13.
Slots Capital Casino Review

Deposit $25 and play with $100

Slots Capital is certainly set up to make slots players feel as welcome as possible when enjoying their favourite games.


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14.
Desertnights Casino Review

250% Bonus up to $2,550

Desert Nights Casino is part of the group of online casinos owned and operated by Deckmedia which in terms of their slots library is also very promising.

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15.
MYB Casino Review

400% up to $2,000 with ree Spins

MYB Casino offering a live dealer casino and a lot of (deposit) bonuses to make sure most players feel valued at this online casino.

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16.
aloha-shark

100% up to €/£/$1400 plus Free Spins

How to download casino games?

If you’re here to find out how to get started with a free online casino download, this is the part for you. We’ll go through some basic steps you’ll most likely need to follow when downloading your preferred online casino. Do keep in mind that all download casinos are slightly different, which clearly means some details can change between operations. How to download casino games for free? Generally speaking you’ll see this works as follows:

1. Pick a trusted download casino

Before you make your decision, make sure you’re fully informed about the operator. Even today, not all casinos are safe and secure for you to install software. If you’re still unsure where to begin, don’t worry. Our dedicated team of online casino professionals has already brushed up all available options, only selecting the best casinos out there.

2. Open the website and create an account

Something to take into consideration is that some casino websites will ask you to sign up first before you can actually install their software on your computer or laptop. The registration process for most online casinos is very straightforward and only takes a few minutes.

3. Follow the steps to download the casino software

The next step is to install the software on your computer. Look for the download link on the casino’s website and the subsequent steps should be pretty self explanatory.

4. Open the downloaded casino installed on your computer

Once you have downloaded the casino software on your computer, you will need to open the download which is usually done automatically. You’re nearly there.

5. Deposit your funds

Most players will want to play with real money which means you will be required to make a deposit before you place your first bet. There should be different payment methods available you can choose from when depositing your funds. Select the banking option you prefer and make sure to check deposit limits, processing times, and fees. We always recommend you to first test the download casino slots in the free demo modus before you start playing for money.

5. Start gambling online

Once all of the above has been completed you’re fully ready to go. Open the software, make sure you’re logged on, and go ahead and play your favorite download casino slots.

Download vs. instant casinos: what’s the difference?

Concepts like download casinos really don’t require further explanations than it’s given name. Nonetheless, in order to make a comparison between download and instant casinos we will need to elaborate on both definitions. So here are two brief descriptions:

Download casino

Download casinos, or downloadable casinos, are complete versions of online casinos and the games within them that you can download to your computer. Download casinos include mobile apps which are meant for mobile use. As it doesn’t require a lot of knowledge to download and install the files, you will only need some space on your hard drive and a proper operating system to get you connected. You will also need an internet connection for the download and future updates. Some games are available offline, once installed. The most important thing is to recognize which casino is trustworthy as you’re about to install its software.

Instant casinos

Instant casinos don’t need any downloads and are web based, and thus, instantly playable. Instant casinos are often referred to as ‘no download’ casinos. All games on offer are streamed via the internet to the player’s device and their functionality depends on the speed and stability of the internet connection. Apart from internet access you will also need to create an account and might be required to confirm your identity before playing. For players with a high speed connection this option is a lot easier than downloading software that tends to fill up a lot of space on your computer or mobile device. Instant play casinos can be opened via de web browser. Given that a big portion of players have access to a fast internet connection, web based casinos have become less important. It’s very uncommon for a casino not to have a web based portal, even if it also offers a separate downloadable client.

Download vs. instant: which is better?

We would dare to say that there are very few situations in which we favour downloading a casino over a web based version. If you’re using your own computer (which wouldn’t be the case for instance if you use your work laptop after your working day) you can do what you want and that might be an incentive to download a client to your computer. The same holds when you’re not satisfied about the functionality of a mobile website and therefore decide to download the app. Most of the bigger providers like NetEnt and Playtech still offer the option to download (variations of) their casinos for exactly this reason. Traditional online gamblers, the experienced veterans, and even gamblers who play frequently, generally prefer to have the software installed on their computer and not be bothered about going to a website for every visit. Those that play every once in a while would often prefer a web based solution.

Download casino

Opening an online casino means that you depend on your internet speed and that’s one of the main reasons why some players prefer downloading a casino. You won’t have to wait for pages to fully load and all games are readily available once you open the download client.  Something which might frustrate you is that software can take up a lot of space on both your computer hard drive or your cell phone and we all know how annoying it can be when you get a notification you’re nearly out of space. Depending on the space you have available on your hard drive you might be able to download a limited amount of games from a certain provider. Whether partial downloads exist, depends on the casino itself.

Speedy and sharp

The upside to taking up a lot of space is that the casino will make its complete portfolio available, giving you access to a large amount of games. Given the fact that you don’t depend on the internet the visuals in instant play casinos tend to be a lot sharper. Some disadvantages of download casinos are that you won’t be able to easily switch between different game developers. You won’t be able to test the games either: first you download and only then you find out what’s on offer. Once the software is installed, all games should be able to run quicker, but only on the device you have downloaded the software to. One of the other great perks of downloadable casinos is they are often much more customizable than instant casino sites. In your settings, you can usually give it a personal touch.

Download casino advantages and disadvantages


AdvantagesDisadvantages
Fast: immediate access, no loadingYou see what you download: you can’t try it beforehand
Embedded software means high quality graphicsOnly usable on 1 computer, laptop or other device
Bigger game portfolioDifficult to switch between providers
Customizable: edit personal settingsFills up a lot of hard drive space

Instant play casinos

Visiting an instant casino site means you won’t have to worry about your hard drive or phone memory and you’ll only need an internet browser to get you going. This way you can easily create an account at different casinos and switch between them. Do note that casinos have to pay their bills and that’s why they often tend to limit the amount of bandwidth needed to play their games. This can lead to different gaming experiences as visuals may be downscaled to accomodate the needs of everybody connected to the website. As not all games are included in the only catalogue this might affect the availability of some games. We do need to point out that this disadvantage has become less relevant over time as casinos keep on improving their online portfolio.

Flexible, but dependant on your internet connection

The good thing about playing online is that you’re not restricted to one client in basically every sense of the word. Switching between software providers is deadly easy and it doesn’t really matter what type of machine you’re using as most casinos are meant to fit all devices. There might, however, be some difference between the gaming experience on each device as mobile websites don’t always work as flawless as gamblers want them to. The most important thing to remember is that if your internet connection drops it’ll immediately end your session.

Instant casino advantages and disadvantages


AdvantagesDisadvantages
Easily switch between casinosVisuals can perform significantly less
Hard drive or smartphone stockage become irrelevantGame portfolio can be limited
Titles available from multiple software providersSpeed of gameplay can differ
Used device, whether mobile or not, is unimportantFunctionality depends on internet connection

Is there still room for download casinos?

Whether you prefer to download casinos or instant casinos is for you to decide, but the casino market is rapidly embracing instant play casinos, while subtly getting rid of free online casino downloads. As Adobe announced it will be ending support for Flash, the shift to instant casino sites is only more likely to increase in the next few years. Both download casino slots and native mobile applications tend to rely on Flash, whereas web based games that run on browsers manage to do so without any errors as long as they’re built on HTML5.

FAQ Download vs. Instant casinos

Are downloadable casinos better than instant play?

No, most people prefer instant play over downloadable casinos. The bitter truth is that there are fewer and fewer players that favor download casinos over instant play casino sites. Instant play nowadays works on most devices, making downloadable casinos unnecessary.

Can I play offline after I download a casino?

Yes, you can play offline slots for real money if you choose to download casino software rather than playing online using a web based casino. Do make sure to check out our list of top rated downloadable US casinos. This way you’ll download the right software that fulfills all the needs you are looking for.

Is the quality higher on a downloadable casino?

Not necessarily. Modern instant play online casinos are optimized for all devices, meaning that they don’t require the installation of Flash, making sure everything runs smoothly on every device. Downloadable casinos were once meant to avoid device compatibility issues, but nowadays all casinos are built in such a way that they work on all devices.

Can I download a casino to my mobile?

Yes, if you’re either an Android or iOS user looking to play casino games from your cell phone, it’s definitely possible. Today, there’s a large number of both Android and iPhone casino downloads you can use on the go. The only thing you’ll need to do is make sure your telephone software is updated to the latest version to guarantee full functionality. Also make sure you have enough space left to download the software and not affect the overall functionality of your cell phone or tablet. iPhone apps are usually available in the AppStore, but Android users will need to go to the casinos website to find the download link as Google Play doesn’t allow any gambling apps.