Downloadable Online Slots
One of the most traditional ways of accessing an online casino is through a downloadable software client. These clients often have the best features, newest games, and most complete collections of slots on the market, making them a great choice for online slots fans.
What are Downloadable Online Slots?
Downloadable online slots are games that can be found in the software clients provided by most online casinos. These clients must be installed on your computer, after which you can access the games anytime you can connect to the internet. In some cases, you may even be able to play the games in these programs without internet access, although only for play money.
How Downloadable Online Slots Work
In order to play a downloadable online slots game, you’ll first need to download software from a casino site. In most cases, this software is designed to be used in a Windows operating system, though there are workarounds that will allow you to use such software on other systems as well.
Once you’ve downloaded the software, you’ll need to install it on your computer. On most modern PCs, this should only take you a couple of minutes. Simply follow the instructions that are presented on your screen, and the casino will be accessible from your desktop.
If you have an account at the casino site, you’ll now be able to log in by starting up the software. Once you’ve logged in, you should see a full selection of casino games to choose from, including all of the casino’s online slots. It’s worth noting that you may have to download some games individually before you can play them; however, each game shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes to download before you can start playing.
Advantages to Downloadable Online Slots
One of the biggest advantages to playing with the downloadable version of an online casino is the fact that you’ll have the full selection of slot machines to choose from. At many casino sites, a “no download” option is available, but this version of the casino may not feature all of the same games that are offered in the downloadable client.
If you like playing the latest games and getting constant updates, downloadable slots are probably the way to go. If a casino has two versions of their software, the downloadable client is usually the one that first gets updated; the instant play version of the casino is usually only given new games after they’ve been thoroughly tested in the more stable downloadable client instead. While these games will usually get to the browser-based casino eventually, they’ll almost always make their first appearance on the Windows client.
Drawbacks to Downloadable Online Slots
There are a couple of obvious disadvantages that come with downloadable slots. The first is that you’ll need to install a casino program on the computer where you wish to play these games. For many players, this issue is a deal breaker. There may be other people who use the computer who wouldn’t appreciate seeing casino software on the machine, or you may be trying to access an online casino from a computer that is not your own. In either case, discretion is necessary, and that means using a browser-based casino site would be a better idea.
Another issue comes into play if you use a Mac or Linux system. As we mentioned earlier, most of these downloadable slots programs are designed for Windows systems. This means that it’s not simple to use a downloadable casino program if you’re not on a Windows PC.
That said, it’s not impossible to do so, either. If you’re a Mac user, the easiest way to do so is probably by using the Boot Camp function that’s present in all newer Macs. Using Boot Camp, you can install the Windows operating system of your choice on your Mac, essentially giving you two choices in how to use your computer. Once you’ve installed Windows, you’ll be given the option to boot up in Windows mode any time you start up your Mac. This is a perfect way to use programs that aren’t available for Macs, such as online casino programs.
While nothing quite this simple exists for Linux users, they do can find ways to use downloadable casino software on their computers. In this case, emulation software is the key to using Windows software (incidentally, this is also an option for those who want to use Windows programs on a Mac, though we feel Boot Camp is both simpler and a more powerful option). The best program on the market for doing this is Wine, which will allow you to run a Windows environment on your Linux machine. Running an online casino program inside of Wine may take a little work, but in most cases, you’ll be able to play your favorite online slots with full functionality.
