Online Casino Game Sites - UK 2024

Casino Card Games

Many players are drawn to the rich histories of the various card games on offer at online casinos, whether you’re playing against the house or your fellow gamblers. Throw in variations of each and you’re spoilt for choice — we’ve explained three of the most popular casino card games below.

Blackjack

The aim of online blackjack is the same as the real thing: stick or twist to get as close to 21 as possible without going bust. You’ll be playing against the dealer, whose actions are determined by the value of their hand. As you can choose whether or not to draw cards, there’s an element of skill here which means your decisions influence your success — that’s one reason why it’s the most popular casino card game around. By applying basic blackjack strategy, you can push the house edge right down — single-deck blackjack has one of the highest returns of all casino table games with a house edge of roughly 0.5%.

There’s plenty on offer for those who like to mix things up. Alongside variations like Blackjack Switch and Pontoon, you’ll find varied rulesets across blackjack games, allowing you to make extra side bets, such as betting on the occurrence of a pair. In some blackjack games, you can also buy insurance when the dealer’s face-up card is an ace — if they hit blackjack, you’ll get a 2-to-1 payout. Once you’ve got basic strategy under your belt, you can incorporate these side bets into your gameplay for some extra excitement.

21+3 and Perfect Pairs

21+3 and Perfect Pairs are some other popular variants you might encounter. These side bets come with a higher house edge, but you’ll stand a chance at a bigger win compared to standard blackjack’s even-money payouts. The payouts given below are just examples and will vary by casino. The house edge is affected by the payouts and the number of decks used, so it can run from around 3% up to 11% and higher.

The Perfect Pairs side bet uses the player’s cards and is won when you’re dealt the following:

• Mixed pair (same value, different suit and colour) – pays 5-to-1
• Coloured pair (same value, same colour) – pays 12-to-1
• Perfect pair (two of the same card) – pays 25-to-1

For 21+3, the player’s cards and the dealer’s face-up card are used. The following combinations are paid out:

• Flush (all cards same suit) – pays 5-to-1
• Straight (consecutive cards) – pays 10-to-1
• Three of a kind (same value, different suits) – pays 30-to-1
• Straight flush (consecutive cards, same suit) – pays 40-to-1
• Suited triple (three of the same card) – pays 100-to-1

Poker

Another game where luck isn’t the only deciding factor, online poker players must try to make the highest ranking hand possible to swipe the pot from their opponents. Skill makes a big difference to your chances of winning — whether you’re holding the nuts or nothing at all, you still need to outwile the other seats at the table with well-timed checks, calls, raises, and bluffs.

Texas Hold’em is the most popular variant of the game. Players are each dealt two cards face down, and after a round of betting, three community cards are dealt face up — that’s called the flop. There’s another round of bets before the turn card is dealt, more bets, and finally the river card.

The player who makes the best five-card hand using any combination of their cards and the community cards is the winner. From best to worst, the card rankings are royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, pair, and high card.

You’ll find many other poker variants at the best online casinos. As well as Texas Hold’em, there are many games played against the house, like Caribbean Stud poker or three- and five-card draw.

Poker Tournaments

Fancy an even bigger challenge? Why not enter a knock-out poker tournament? It’s a thrilling way to compete against potentially thousands of others to prove your worth and take home a prize. Typically, players must buy in for a set fee and are given a stack of tournament chips to use. After that, it’s all about survival — lose your chips and you’re out, until just one player remains at the end of the final round.

Rules and prizes vary between tournaments. Go out early and you might be able to rebuy for another chance. The prize pools often consist of entry fees, and can be split between players or winner takes all. If you’ve never played in a poker tournament before, look for a freeroll as these tournaments cost nothing to enter and are a great way to get your feet wet.

Baccarat

Famous as James Bond’s game of choice and massively popular in Macau, online baccarat is a straightforward card game played against the house. Your aim is simple: bet on which hand you think will get closest to nine. All wagers are placed before any cards are drawn, so the game comes down entirely to chance.

The most common format played is punto banco, where you can bet on the ‘player’ or the ‘banker’. The number cards 2–9 are worth their face value, while the 10, J, Q, and K cards are all worth 0. Aces are worth 1. Only the units digit is counted in the value, so a total hand value of 13 is worth 3.

After the bets are placed, two cards are dealt to each hand. If either hand has a value of 8 or 9 — called a natural — the winner is announced and a new round begins. If not, a set of rules called the ‘tableau’ is used to decide whether the player and banker hands should draw another card. The winner is then announced and bets are paid out.

Baccarat’s house edge is attractively low: 1.06% on banker bets and 1.24% on player bets. We’d discourage you from betting on a tie as the house edge is significantly higher — 14.4% on 8-to-1 payouts and 4.85% on 9-to-1 payouts.

Play Live Dealer Games Online

For some, playing against a computer just doesn’t cut it. If you’re a fan of more interactive gaming, a live dealer casino is the perfect solution. Live casino games are streamed in real-time from specially built studios, with a human dealer running the game just like in a bricks-and-mortar casino.

You can view and chat with the dealer, and some casinos even let players chat among themselves thanks to the live chat feature. Whilst live blackjack and live roulette are the most popular games, you’ll be able to pretty much every table game with a live dealer at the top casinos.

These games provide the most immersive casino experience you can find online, but the extra cost of hosting these games means they often have a higher minimum bet limit than other online casino games.

Enjoy Free Casino Games

Are you a fan of casino games but don’t fancy wagering real money? Good news – you can play online without spending a penny. Virtually every online casino has free demo versions of its games, with the exception of live dealer titles.

Whether you want to play free slots or just fancy a game of roulette and blackjack for fun, free casino games give you the chance to play online without dipping into your own pocket.

Free demos are ideal if you just want to play casino games for fun, but they’re also handy if you want to try out a new game or give your strategy a test run before you jump in with real money. You won’t necessarily get to access the same bonus rounds and extra features when you play free casino games, but they certainly give you a taste of the real gaming experience.

How Do Casino Games Work?

It’s all well and good simply playing casino games online, but you probably want to have some idea of what goes on behind the scenes. Let’s take a look.

RNG

UK-licenced casinos use random number generator (RNG) technology in their animated games. This basically means that each outcome – which cards are drawn, where the roulette ball lands and so on— is completely random, unpredictable and independent. This gives all players the same fair chances of winning.

House Edge

The house edge is the estimated average profit a casino expects to make from all wagers placed on a game over time. So if a game has a house edge of 5%, the casino expects to make £5 for every £100 gambled, on average. The house edge is different for all games, with blackjack essentially offering the best odds of winning thanks to its average house edge of 0.5%.

For example, the banker bet in baccarat has an edge of around just 1%, while the edge for the red or black bet in American roulette is over 5%. However, no matter how small, house edge means that the casino always has a slight advantage over the player.

RTP

The return to player (RTP) percentage is the opposite of house edge – it’s the theoretical percentage of returns you would expect to make over time from a particular game. Let’s say the RTP of a slot title is 97%- in theory, you would expect to win £97 back for every £100 you wager.

It’s important to remember that the house edge and RTP are theoretical, and do not translate into odds of winning on any given spin or wager. It’s possible for players to make large wins in the short term, and even to profit over a long play period if you get extremely lucky.

On the flip side, there’s also the chance that your returns will be well below the RTP at any given point. But it’s useful to know so that you have a rough idea of how you might expect a game to play out.

Claim a Bonus for Online Casino Games

The best online casinos are on hand to give your bankroll a tidy boost with an assortment of enticing deposit bonuses. There’s a whole range of great offers out there, from welcome bonus matched deposits and no deposit free spins to regular promotions like cash backs.

These bonuses aren’t available for all casino games, in fact some are restricted for use only on certain titles, such as free spins for Starburst. You should also read the small print for other terms and conditions that make it difficult to turn any bonus winnings into cash profits – wagering requirements, maximum win limits and time restrictions are just some of the obstacles you’ll have to contend with.

If you’re looking for a particularly player-friendly bonus, check out our rankings of the best new online casinos. The bonus value may typically be smaller, but new casinos typically offer no wagering bonuses and low wagering requirements as a means to differentiate themselves from the more established casinos.

Play Casino Games on your Mobile

Do you want to play online casino games on the go? You’re in luck! The top brands on our list all offer mobile casino games available on your mobile and tablet. You can play through a mobile-friendly website or a gambling mobile app; the best casino sites have created these for iOS and Android.

However you choose to play mobile casino games, you’ll get to enjoy the same games libraries and exciting casino bonuses, so there’s never-ending access to a whole world of casino fun at your very fingertips.