The online casino games have been around for a long time - since 1994, to be exact. But they were always a matter of controversy. Gambling has been a strictly regulated business in most countries, but online casinos were something new - reaching beyond boundaries, and harder to grasp for a less tech-savvy political class. But the internet was not as widespread then as it is today. Since the rise of the smartphone, billions of people all around the world can access hundreds of real money gaming venues, licensed in various jurisdictions.

Online policies

Real money gaming is still a matter of controversy. There are countries where it is a completely regulated industry, with operators and players contributing millions in taxes to the states' budgets. But there are some - like the US for example - where it's barely legal. This is something usual, since the laws of most countries differ from each other. What strange, though, is that there are two major US-based companies - Apple and Google - that have different policies toward real money gaming operators. Namely, Apple allows the listing of real money gaming apps in its App Store, while Google does not. Which is strange, considering that Apple is dominant in the US, where online gambling is mostly illegal.

Vis major

These different policies have forced real money gaming operators to find a workaround: HTML5. Today most leading mobile gaming operators offer their players a browser-based option only, one that will run on any smartphone, no matter what operating system it runs. The Royal Vegas Mobile Online Casino, one of the most visited of them all, has over 100 games that run on any smartphones. Users can simply navigate to the Royal Vegas website, create an account - or log on with the same credentials they use on their desktop devices - and dig right in. While the Royal Vegas Mobile has a more restricted collection of games, its variety is still satisfactory for its players. And with the new games that are added to the Royal Vegas library each month, this number increases continuously.

Alternatives

Google still shows no sign of easing its policies on real money gaming. Players can go with the browser-based option, of course, but there are many who would prefer otherwise. These players will have another option soon, offered by Betcade, a startup based in the UK.

Betcade has proposed to become the Play Store of the real money gaming industry. Once it launched - sometime this summer - it will offer players a secure, trustworthy place to procure their preferred gaming apps, and operators a way to deploy and manage their software products. There will be no more fakes, no more scams: Betcade will approve only high-quality, licensed content, much like Google's Play Store would. This way Android users will have the chance to play with their favorite games, in their preferred way, with peace of mind.