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.
- Bet365
- Titan Bet
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.
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.