An online casino is an Internet site where you can play one or more casino type games, such as blackjack, for real money. While some will let you play for free, the real reason to play is the same as Las Vegas - To win money.

Generally, online casinos are of three kinds:

The first kind are those that require you to download a program for free. These casinos are usually the most fun to play, but you will have the program on your hard drive. This means that you have to wait for the application to download from the Internet and then install it on your computer. Once installed, these programs typically offer great graphics, sound and animation. Several years ago, (in the computer stone age), hard drive space was much more precious than it is today. If you bought your computer within the last two years, then you shouldn't have to worry about the download taking up too much space.

The second type is a casino that uses JAVA instead of a downloaded program. These JAVA applets run through your web browser. Some of these online casinos offer sound and animation, and all of them offer some pretty good graphics.

The third kind of online casino uses all HTML and do not require any download time. Although these Casinos do not offer the sound and animation of the other online casinos, they do have great graphics and fast gameplay. The best way to find an online casino that suits your computer and needs is to look at the list of Top Online Casinos for a complete listing of the best the 'Net has to offer in online casinos.