The Best Online Casino Games in 2022

Gambling in the twenty-first century is a completely different beast than it was, even as recently as thirty years ago. Of course, brick-and-mortar casinos are still going strong and remain the backbone of the entire industry, but the bulk of table game and slot game fans have moved on to online play. Online casinos allow users to win real money without leaving their homes or dealing with other casino-goers (as well as ridiculously expensive food and beverages).

Moreover, modern online casino games offer a lot more variety than their stationary counterparts. While it is true that digitized slot machines with different pop-culture-inspired games have sprung up in the 1980s and 90s and became quite popular, it is casino sites that have truly spearheaded the slot revolution.

Not only have they provided gamers with countless games to play at the tip of their fingers, but they also presented many online casino game developers with an opportunity to get their work out there without a sizable budget necessary to get their titles onto expensive slot machines and distribute them around the country. Nowadays, if an online casino game is good, it will outperform other titles, even those with bigger financial backing.

Thanks to the digitalization of slot games, the entire gambling industry became much more meritocratic. Of course, this is only regarding game developers — online gambling, and chance-based games in general, still revolve around luck!

However, the rise of online casino games and their wild popularity has led to an entirely different problem for gamblers: an overabundance of slots, table games, and live dealer games. With so many titles to choose from, it can get really difficult to pick one that is worth your time and money, especially if you’re an e-gaming newcomer and don’t really have a favorite developer or genre.

 If that’s the case with you, then you’ve come to the right place. This extensive guide to the best online casino games you can play in 2022 will introduce you to some of the absolute gems of the industry and help you make your own judgments by breaking down the main characteristics of online gaming.

What to Look for in Online Slots and Other Casino Games

Playing casino games online can be a lot of fun, as well as a realistic chance to win real money. However, just like any other niche in the entertainment industry nowadays, online casino games do not come without their pitfalls. Learning how to recognize red flags and major shortcomings when playing a slot can not only allow you to shift your focus onto worthwhile titles but also save you a whole lot of money in the most extreme cases.

Online slot machines revolve around a lot more than just bonuses and winning symbols. Although the vast majority of them are incredibly similar and are based on the same rulesets, you still need to know how to analyze the most important aspects of the game you’re playing to tell whether or not it’s worth your time and money.

Below, you can find an extensive list of some of the most popular terms and mechanics frequently used in slot games.

RTP

RTP, or the return-to-player rate, is one of the most important statistics you need to take into account when finding an online slot. It represents the percentage of cash that a chosen slot will pay back to the player over time. If the RTP for a certain game is 93%, then for every hundred 1-dollar bets you make, you can expect to get $90 back. Generally, you’ll want to find a slot game with as high of an RTP as possible.

Scatter Symbols

These are commonly known as the “gambler’s best friend”. As opposed to the regular symbols that need to fall along a certain payline in order for the player to win, scatter symbols merely need to appear on any reel, in any position to give you a reward. These rewards often entail bonus rounds or free spins, but some slots give players a small sum of real money for scatter symbols.

Multiplier Symbols

Multipliers work in combination with the normal symbol combinations. Should you be so lucky to score a winning combination along with the appearance of a multiplier symbol on one of the reels, then your winnings will get multiplied by the number shown on that symbol.

Paylines

This is the most important thing to observe when playing online casino games. A payline is the row upon which the symbols need to fall in order for you to get a win. In the old, three-reel slots, there was just a single payline: the middle horizontal row. However, modern slot games make use of dozens of paylines, including vertical and diagonal ones, to increase the player’s chances of winning. When picking out a slot to play, always make sure to check how many paylines it has.

Volatility

This characteristic determines what kind of winnings you’re likely to get from a particular slot and how often they occur. When playing high volatility slots, you’ll win less often, but your victories will yield much higher rewards. Low volatility slots are the exact opposite, with frequent wins of a much lower caliber. When trying to figure out how volatile you want your preferred slot to be, you should consider your risk appetite and budget size.

Gamble Features

They may seem like a good way to increase your winnings, but you should be careful when messing around with gamble features. Some online slots will give you the gamble option after you score a win along any of the paylines. Basically, it lets you put all of your winnings on the line for a 50/50 chance of doubling them. After winning a round, you can choose to go again for a shot at quadrupling your spoils, and so on. When it comes to this feature, our advice is to never gamble on incredibly high winnings and know when to walk away.

Free Spin Rounds

Some slots are more generous with free spin rounds than others, but this feature basically comes down to the same thing: you get a few chances to spin the reels and win real money without putting down your deposited cash on the line.

Ways to Win

The “ways to win” figure is the number of different methods of winning large or small sums of money in the slot. It combines scoring along the paylines with extra features like scatter symbols, multiplications, bonuses, jackpots, gamble features, etc., into one number. Keep in mind that a lot of ways to win doesn’t necessarily mean a high likelihood of winning, as not every way to win is equally likely to transpire.

The Best Online Slots to Play in 2022

Discovering new online slots can be a lot of fun, but sometimes you’ll just feel like falling back on a casino game that you know you enjoy, one that will give you a fair chance of winning some money without any trickery.

Of course, taste in online casino games is a deeply personal matter, and we can’t guarantee that you’ll like every single one of the slots listed above. It’s no secret, though, that not all online slots are equally popular. The most popular casino games tend to meet with positive responses from the vast majority of players, and these are the titles that we’ve tried to include in our compilation.

Starburst

With over nine years on the market and still going strong, Starburst is one of the all-time favorite online slots that just doesn’t seem to get old. It was developed by NetEnt, one of the industry’s most-respected slot creators, and it shows that they’ve put a lot of work and dedication into turning this particular game into an immersive, smooth experience.

The slot is made up of five reels and has ten paylines. There is also a “Starburst Wild” symbol that is kind of a wildcard in that when it gets rolled, it expands to cover an entire reel, significantly increasing your chances of winning the jackpot.

Starburst is a low-volatility slot, making it a perfect introductory game for people who are new to the world of online casino games. It has an RTP of 96.09%, and the maximum win is capped at 5000x the initial bet. Graphically, the game’s focus is on aesthetic simplicity. Unlike some other popular titles, this slot does not overburden the players with too many elements on the screen. It’s clear that the developers wanted to make sure that even an absolute online casino rookie will know what is going on after a couple of minutes of gameplay.

All in all, Starburst by NetEnt is a slot worth recommending to anyone who prefers low volatility casino games, but especially people who are new to online gambling. It is the perfect game for you to get your bearings and learn what slot games are all about.

Mega Moolah

Mega Moolah’s biggest claim to fame is the Guiness World Record for the biggest jackpot win in the history of online slots at $21 million. It was scored by a lucky Britton named John Heywood in October 2015. His initial wager? $6.80. That is a 128 million percent return on investment!

Developed in 2006 by Microgaming, Mega Moolah is a progressive jackpot game, which basically means that the jackpot increases with each time someone plays the game but does not win it. Naturally, it also means that jackpot wins are much rarer than in the case of regular slots, but then again, regular slots never offer the kind of life-changing money players can hope to win playing progressive jackpots.

The RTP in Mega Moolah is lower than most slots at 88.12%, but this is a direct result of the progressive jackpot nature of this game. Its volatility is also fairly high, but the developers made up for it by being fairly generous with bonus rounds and free spins.

Thunderstruck II

Microgaming’s five-reel slots continue to dominate the niche in 2022, and Thunderstruck II is one of the main reasons why. As a sequel to the wildly popular, Norse mythology-inspired game, it didn’t set out to revolutionize the gameplay but rather to polish out every single one of the original Thunderstruck’s shortcomings.

From graphics to the soundtrack, Thunderstruck II’s creators have, indeed, managed to improve upon its predecessor, producing a title that, despite being released way back in 2010, continues to feel fresh and capture the interest of new players every single day.

With 243 ways to win, the game avoids creating a feeling like it’s impossible to win, which many other slots suffer from. Additionally, there are three bonus rounds inspired by Norse gods. As a low volatility slot with plenty of ways to win, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Thunderstruck II won’t churn out life-changing winnings, but it doesn’t really have to. The wins are modest but frequent, which is what many gamblers consider to be a perfect balance.

Deal Or No Deal

Inspired by the hit TV game show with the same name, Deal Or No Deal is a five-reel slot with a twist, as it implements elements and mechanics from the show into the traditional spin-and-wait gameplay. Fans of the hit series will undoubtedly recognize the banker luring the player to take him up on an attractive offer (DOND’s version of the gamble feature), the rotary telephone (used here to replace the scatter feature), and other things that accurately emulate and capture the atmosphere of the hit game show.

Deal Or No Deal is a great slot for you if you’re tired of the traditional formula and want to give something fresh a shot. Of course, if you’re unfamiliar with the game show, it may seem a little odd and confusing at first, but it is fairly easy to get a grip on the rules after a few spins.

Mega Fortune

Created in 2009 as NetEnt’s attempt at capitalizing on the success of Mega Moolah, Mega Fortune is another progressive jackpot slot that gives gamblers a shot at winning millions of dollars with a low wager worth the equivalent of a lottery ticket (with much better odds than playing the lottery).

When it comes to standard chances of winning outside of the progressive jackpot feature, you’ll have a chance at multiplying your wager by 2162 times, which could amount to a fair bit of real money, too. This is also one of the main advantages Mega Fortune has over Mega Moolah — with an RTP of 96.6% and low volatility, it’s much easier to enjoy it as a regular slot game without paying much mind to its progressive jackpot.

The Best Online Table Games to Play in 2022

Online slots are great, but they are not everything that online gambling has to offer (although it may seem like it sometimes). The table game niche still has a fair amount of dedicated followers, with the best casino games played at classic brick-and-mortar establishments carried over to the digital sphere exceptionally well.

If you’re unfamiliar with most of the top casino games but are more inclined to enjoy playing cards or dice than spinning slot titles, then this section is the one for you. Here are the five most popular casino games you can play from the comfort of your home, on a computer or mobile device.

Baccarat

Oddly enough, baccarat is a game that has gained more popularity in the online sphere than it ever did in real life. Much like in blackjack, the game revolves around comparing the player’s hands and the house, with three possible outcomes: the player has the higher score, the house has the higher score, and there is a tie. Baccarat’s fast-paced nature and the lack of a top score limit (like the 21 in blackjack), make it a great game for beginners, as there aren’t many rules to get familiar with, and it can be played at both low and high stakes.

Craps

Contrary to baccarat, there are quite a few things to learn before playing craps. The game is centered around throwing dice, with all of the players betting on the outcome of each dice throw. The main appeal of craps is the fact that it’s a game where there is room for a lot of strategizing, as players can bet against the thrower or in favor of the thrower. It is also one of the rare table games where quite frequently, all of the players at the table are “on the same team”, as the desired throw outcome can sometimes benefit everybody who’s got a stake in it.

Three Card Poker

Three card poker is a much quicker version of poker, and contrary to the traditional version of the game, it is played on a 1v1, player vs. the house basis, without other gamblers involved. The rules are nearly identical to regular poker games, except the three-card hands, which naturally exclude some of the payouts that are possible in Texas Hold ‘Em or classic poker.

Blackjack

A fan-favorite game, blackjack is one of the most popular table games ever, both in the online and offline gambling communities. With a simple ruleset of having to get a hand of cards with a score of as close or equal to 21 as possible without exceeding the number, it provides plenty of excitement and opportunity to win big. It is also one of the best live dealer games to try out if you want to emulate the tension felt when uncovering the cards.

Roulette

This classic table game needs no introduction. Despite being purely luck-based and random, roulette never fails to draw a crowd of both players and spectators. There is something intrinsically exciting about watching that little ball spin around the wheel and landing exactly where you wanted it to land, regardless of whether it is on one of the casino sites or at a brick-and-mortar casino.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is playing in casinos online safe?

Yes, playing at online casinos is perfectly safe, provided that you always choose legitimate casino sites and game developers. How to know if a website or game provider is legit? There are quite a few organizations whose job is to grant certificates to online gambling platforms and creators. Some of the most famous ones include the Malta Gaming Authority, the British Gambling Commission, and eCOGRA. If a casino or online slot you’re trying to play is certified by one of these organizations, then you can safely enjoy the game without worrying about your funds or winnings getting stolen by malicious actors.

Of course, you also need to keep all the basic cybersecurity practices in mind. Things like using secure passwords, two-factor authentication, and never typing out your financial information on public WiFi networks are just a few things you should be wary of when playing casino games online.

Are there free casino games that let me play without betting real money?

There are many online platforms that busy themselves with aggregating demo versions and reviews of most online slots solely for the purpose of giving players a way of trying out a new casino game before investing real money in it. Many online casino sites, such as FIFO88, also give their users access to free versions of games. Gambling is a lot of fun, but it can also end up with you losing a lot of money, so trying out every new casino game for free is a good way to ensure whether or not it is worth your hard-earned cash.

How can I protect myself against scams and thieves?

One of the best ways to make sure that you don’t end up being the subject of identity theft, credit card scam, or any other one of the threats that lurk around the World Wide Web, is by implementing basic cybersecurity measures. Some of them, like two-factor authentication or sticking with certified casinos, has been outlined earlier, but there are other things you can do to protect yourself. Unfortunately, using VPNs when playing online casino games for real money is out of the question, as most modern casinos safeguard themselves against VPNs. Otherwise, they might be held accountable for players who use virtual private network software to access gambling sites that may be illegal in their countries of origin.

Never play casino games for real money on public wireless networks, i.e., at airports, cafes, or restaurants. They don’t have the best security and can be accessed by anyone who finds themselves in their vicinity. Blackhat hackers often frequent such establishments to prey on users unaware of the fact that their online activity is completely exposed.

Finally, never use the same password for separate online casinos. Make sure to use a different one, or just stick with a single provider. If you’re uncertain about whether or not you can memorize all of your passwords, be sure to write them down on paper — do not take photos or type them down on mobile devices, as they’re vulnerable to hacking, too.