Online Linux Gambling Sites
Thanks to their dominating marketing efforts of the late
1980s and early 1990s, Microsoft shaped the way the Internet
works for most of the 1990s and early 2000s. That meant nearly
every Website offered an optimized experience for Microsoft
users and, if they were lucky, provided a few features for
people using other operating systems. The Linux operating system
was the first true open source operating system. Based on UNIX,
it was promoted as an inexpensive and more stable alternative to
Microsoft’s Windows environment, which ran on top of the very
old DOS operating system.
Because of Microsoft’s dominance online casino sites and the
game developers who supplied them with software focused on
serving the Windows marketplace. And because early Internet
connections were slow and expensive that meant requiring members
to download and install special casino software on their PCs.
It was a rare Linux user who could join an online casino in
that world, although some online casino games could be played in
Web browsers if you were willing to settle for a sub-par gaming
experience.
Thankfully, those days are coming to an end but we have
tracked several Linux friendly casinos through the years and we
believe they understand the special needs of Linux users. We
feel these are the best Linux friendly casinos you will find
online.
Rank | VA Gambling Site | Deposit Bonus | Products | Get Started | |
#1 |
Las Atlantis
|
280% Up To $14,000 |
|
Visit Site | |
#2 |
Wild Casino
|
250% Up To $5,000 |
|
Visit Site | |
#3 |
BetUS
|
125% Up To $2,500 |
|
Visit Site | |
#4 |
BetOnline
|
50% Up To $1,000 |
|
Visit Site | |
#5 |
Bovada
|
50% Up To $250 |
|
Visit Site |
As Linux has become more popular among computer users the
technologies binding the Internet together have become more
powerful, ubiquitous, and versatile. The greatest improvement in
Linux online gaming has to be the growing adoption of Web
browser standards that support a consistent in browser graphical
experience. Many online casinos now provide in browser or
“instant play” games that Linux users can enjoy as well as
Windows users.
And there are some other options available too, although we
feel that casinos which cater to the needs of the Linux
marketplace are more likely to provide a better user experience.
Fortunately, the online gaming world is pushing the distinctions
between operating systems away from the user, making it easier
for everyone to enjoy the same level of great service at these
casinos that Linux users have grown to respect through the
years.
Casino and Bingo Games
The majority of online players prefer to play casino
(baccarat, blackjack, craps, and roulette) and bingo games. In
the early years of online gaming that almost always prevented
Linux players from enjoying these games. However, in addition to
the traditional download option virtually all the top online
casinos offer instant play versions of their casino and bingo
games so that everyone with a stable Internet connection and a
standard Web browser (such as Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Opera)
can enjoy a similar gaming experience.
While some casinos still require you to download their secure
software to create and fund your account, the trend in recent
years has been to convert sites to use HTTPS so that they can
establish private, secure connections. You can manage your user
account online from the safety of your own home connection.
And while instant play games have earned a reputation for
being of lower quality than the downloaded games, strides in
HTML technology and computing power are narrowing the gap
between the in browser experience and the download experience.
Linux players can enjoy a fun evening playing blackjack or
roulette without having to worry about the games constantly
freezing up.
Online Poker
The world of online poker rooms went through a similar
evolution as the casino and bingo games. Linux users were often
shut out of the poker experience because they could not install
the Windows download software on their computers. Thanks to the
improvements in browser technology mentioned above most poker
rooms support an in browser experience.
The servers running these networks have also improved
tremendously. Their capacity for handling more players has grown
substantially within the past decade. The network operators run
banks of servers out of high volume data centers so they can
support thousands of players around the world, 24/7. Linux users
don’t need any special software to join these networks and
participate in the games.
The quality of instant play poker may still be somewhat less
than the quality of the download experience but the important
thing to remember is that it is playable and stable, depending
on your Internet connection. We expect nothing but continued
improvement in the no download poker gaming environment as
developers incorporate new technologies into their networks and
gaming software.
Online Sports Betting for Linux Users
One area where Linux users have enjoyed a similar quality
experience to Windows users is in sports betting and it is an
understatement to say that Linux users are as involved in the
sports betting world as in anything else they can do. Everything
in sports betting is handled directly through the Website itself
so there is no software to download.
Better yet, sports betting sites offer many live feed options
so you can follow events as they play out, and you have every
opportunity to establish your own markets. There is no need to
look for Linux friendly sports betting sites as they are all
Linux friendly.
Why Does Your Operating System Matter?
A computer is a collection of different devices that each
have their own special command sets or languages. These devices
can be used independently of one another but we have no simple
way of controlling them. The computer operating system is super
command language that controls all the devices and special tasks
of the computer. Each operating system has its own set of unique
commands into addition to the commands that control the devices
like hard drives, video displays, keyboards, USB ports, etc.
There are two common types of operating systems in use today:
PC operating systems and minicomputer operating systems. UNIX
was developed by AT&T Bell Labs in the late 1960s for
minicomputers. It was ported to the IBM PC platform in the
1980s, but by that time Microsoft had set the standard for
Personal Computers (PCs) with DOS, upon which they built their
first Windows platform.
In the 1990s Linus Torvalds wrote the kernel for a new
operating system, Linux, that was based on UNIX but easier to
update and implement on a PC architecture. Because of its design
principles, though, UNIX and its many variants can be ported to
many different types of machine architectures and some
mainframes now use UNIX too. Hence, Linux even eventually
replaced Apple’s proprietary operating system as what we now
call Mac OS.
Linux takes advantage of the multiuser functionality of UNIX
to manage devices more efficiently than the old DOS operating
system did. Windows has borrowed some ideas from Linux and UNIX
as it has evolved, but Windows still uses many of the old DOS
style commands.
In order to run on a computer, an application program like a
casino game must use the operating system’s command language to
request the use of devices, memory, and special operating system
commands. Developers had to write different versions of their
applications for each operating system they wanted to support.
Not many applications have versions for both Windows and Linux,
but Web browsers all comply with a core set of standards.
Hence, it is more economical for game developers to write
software that works in any Web browser than to develop two or
more versions of the software for different operating systems.
But due to some limitations even in the HTML5 coding standards
it is still acceptable for developers to write downloadable
Windows applications for gaming. They prefer the Windows
marketplace because it is several times larger than the Linux
marketplace.
Can You Run Windows Software on Linux Operating Systems?
UNIX and Linux operating systems have in fact supported what
are called “Windows emulation software” for decades. This
software usually emulates an older version of Microsoft Windows
and may not be able to support all of the Windows functions that
native installations can support.
Nonetheless it has been shown that many types of Windows
games can run well in Linux emulation mode, although they run
more slowly. You have to use a very powerful computer to get
anything like a low end real time performance from a Windows
emulation program. That is because your application software is
communicating with the emulated Windows operating system
application that is in turn communicating with the Linux
operating system.
downloads on your Linux computer.
It is better in our opinion to
play instant play games or join Linux friendly casinos for the
best gaming experience.
Conclusion
Linux is a powerful, stable operating system and it is
completely true to say that it is popular with tech savvy
players. By some estimates, Linux powers about 1/3 of all modern
computing devices if you include smart phones but even just
looking at the desktop PC marketplace there are tens of millions
of Linux users.
The online gaming world used to discriminate between Linux
and Windows users only because there was more money to be made
from catering to the Windows market first. And this was true of
most applications, not just gaming. But as the Web based
application interface becomes standard through support of HTML5
and common browser standards, we can expect to see more
applications shed their reliance upon individual operating
systems.
Of course, you still need good hardware and a stable, secure
Internet connection. We don’t recommend playing online casino
games at your local coffee shop over their free Wi-Fi on a ten
year old laptop. You want to keep your connection private and as
secure as possible but you also want to use as much power as you
can so that your gaming experience is smooth and fantastic.