Social vs. Real Money – a Comparison

Social games are a huge market, thanks to their popularity both on desktop computers (through social networks) and on mobile platforms like iOS and Android. And one of the most popular game types today are social casinos, popular especially in countries where legitimate real money gambling operations are banned. According to Statista.com, the global social casino market is worth $3.4 billion in 2015, growing from $3 billion in 2014. If you’ve been under the impression that social games, and especially social casinos, are free – you are wrong. No truly free service could generate such revenues.

How do social casinos generate their revenues? First of all, they charge their players for re-filling their virtual currency accounts. Each player starts with a certain amount in their accounts, and when that amount is consumed, they can instantly top them up again for a small amount. While the amount they charge is not big, combined with their large user base it adds up to a nice amount. Add the ads their players are occasionally viewing – often in exchange for in-game benefits – and you get a considerable daily revenue. According to Statista, the Big Fish Casino generated on average over $198,000 a day in August, on iOS and in the US only.

In comparison, real money gambling operations offer way more to their players – and with infinitely lower costs for them. Those willing to play a few spins on a slot machine or a few hands of blackjack can do so at the All Slots mobile casino free of charge. The game collection they can access is the same as in case of real money All Slots players – the only difference is that they can’t opt into promotions and special offers, and their wins are virtual. Whenever they run out of virtual currency, players can instantly top up their accounts, but All Slots will not charge them in any way for it. What’s more important – All Slots doesn’t show any ads inside its free gaming platform. Players occasionally get non-intrusive reminders that in order to win cash they need to play for cash, but that’s all.

And when it comes to game variety, real money gaming platforms are clearly superior. Even DoubleDown, the social branch of US based casino software developer IGT, has only a minuscule number of games compared to the hundreds players can try free at the All Slots Casino. Besides, the All Slots adds new games to its collection each month, so even its “for fun” players can always play the latest titles as soon as they are released.

Those looking for casino-style entertainment would better choose the completely free and far superior experience offered by real money casino operators than go social. It will cost them much less in the long run.

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