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The global casino industry is a $500 billion a year behemoth that is continuing to grow in size every single day. In the US alone, a full two-thirds of the adult population describe themselves as gamblers, a number that has increased substantially over the past decade.

While other forms of gambling such as sports betting have also skyrocketed in popularity in recent years, it seems that the lion’s share of the industry belongs to the casino sector. Ever since the heady early days of Las Vegas and Monte Carlo, casino gaming has been wildly popular among people of all backgrounds, with very little changing in terms of what games remain popular.

Read on to find out the most popular casino games that people are playing in 2019.

Slot Machines

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This should come as no surprise to anyone who has ever so much as set foot in a casino. Your average Vegas casino has more than half of its floor space taken up by hundreds of slot machines, as these are by far the most popular casino games in 2019. The reasons for their popularity are numerous; people are drawn to the ease of playing, the low risk associated with each game, and the soothing and solitary nature of slot gaming.

One thing that first-timers should be on the lookout for when it comes to slot games is the RTP (Return-to-Player) value offered by each game. This is a calculation of how much of a total bet will be returned to a player on average over a certain time period. Each slot game has its own RTP with some giving better rates than others, while most range between 80-95%. This means that you’re unlikely to lose much money on the slots, while your chances of winning are pretty high indeed.

In recent years much of the popularity of slot games has been driven by the online casino industry. While leading digital platforms tend to offer a variety of casino games, it is absolutely standard that each website should offer dozens if not hundreds of different online slots for players to enjoy. Few games in history have been as successful and able to offer such variety as slot machines.

Blackjack

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Another one that suggests simplicity is key when it comes to popularity. Blackjack is the most popular card game in most casinos by a considerable margin, partly because newcomers or infrequent gamblers can pick it up with such ease. The only goal is to beat the house (the dealer) by being dealt a card combination of 21, or as close to 21 as possible, without going over the number.

Of course, while the basic rules of blackjack are appealingly simple, there have been endless debates over strategy, with many of the most experienced players testifying that there are ways that you can increase your advantage over the house. At the end of the day, it really is just down to maths, with the player’s odds of hitting the jackpot being pretty similar to the odds of the dealer winning. There are few other casino games which give you such a solid chance of winning, which is why blackjack is so popular.

Blackjack has been immortalized in countless Hollywood films, including The Hangover, Casino, 21, and Rain Man, which have doubtless contributed to the immense popularity that the game enjoys today, both online and in land-based casinos.

Roulette

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You might’ve been expecting poker to round off the list of the most popular casino games in the world, but you’d be wrong. Rather than a card game squeezing into the top rankings for 2019, it’s actually the spinning roulette wheel which gamblers prefer.

It seems that games relying more on luck than on actual strategy seem to have the strongest appeal, possibly because the adrenaline accompanying them is greater. It also helps that the lack of complex rules and possible strategies makes the game accessible to first-timers, who have the same chance of winning a game as someone who has been playing for decades.

There are multiple different types of roulette you can play at the casino, including the “classic” French roulette and the so-called “rapid roulette”, which is a more fast-paced version of the original that is played via video monitor. However, it’s American Roulette, which is most common in US casinos, that features an extra “oo” pocket and has all of the numbers in a logical, ascending order, unlike the European version.

Few games are more thrilling than roulette and the feeling of waiting for the ball to land on the wheel is difficult to compare to anything else.

Casino gaming is a remarkably consistent genre of entertainment. Even after hundreds of years, the same few games remain as popular as ever. As the old saying goes, why fix something that isn’t broken?