For a lot of people , 2020 will go down as the year where everything went wrong. However there were some positive developments too. One of them was the launch of . After years of speculation and the opening and closing of its testing period, BETMGM finally went live in the Keystone State, operated by Entain.
around the world and it has been offering its services in New Jersey since 2014. It took them three years to expand into another state, but they made up for lost time by launching in a total of six states in quick succession:
- Colorado
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Pennsylvania
- West Virginia
- Ohio
Entain, on the other hand, stuck to their policy of going live in as many states as possible, and they now operate in 15 states either on their own or in partnership with MGM Resorts. Both companies showed great resilience during these difficult times and expanded their reach substantially while doing so.
Today we’re comparing BetMGM PA with bet365 because we want to analyze how the two largest online casino operators in the US stack up against each other. We are not reviewing every single aspect of their platforms but rather focusing on international experience.
Free Casino Slots Games You Can Play Online for FunGetting Familiar with the bet365 Lobby
bet365 has offered a downloadable desktop app for years and that’s what their platform looks like. There is a left-hand side menu that lets you navigate through slots, table games, jackpots, roulette, blackjack, casino sweats and more. You can also do this from the top bar but the extended version of the menu makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for.
Slots take up the most space in the bet365 lobby and they are divided into various categories such as , movie & tv, nature & animals and religious & mythical. You can also sort them by features (free spins, bonus rounds, etc.), lines, paylines, columnes and rows. bet365 currently has around 370 slots on offer in Pennsylvania whereas BETMGM has over 450.
Best Online Casinos in USA New Zealand ReviewsThe table game selection consists of 10 games - 4 roulettes, 3 blackjacks and one each of hi-lo, baccarat and poker. The poker variant is Texas Hold’em Side Bet, which is a unique game that combines poker and video poker. We haven’t seen any other operator offering this game. All other poker variants are locked in the poker client or available in the betting interface of table games like Roulette and Blackjack.
The casinos games category contains 9 more games - 3 more roulette variations, 2 more blackjack games, a pair-based riddle game called Double Spin, 2 more hi-lo variations, a bingo-like product called Deal or No Deal: Bingo and a classic Italian lottery game called Bingo. If you’ve ever watched the movie “Rain Man” as a child and wondered what exactly is a , bet365 offers two versions of the game – Premium and Standard. Other than American, European and the two variants, bet365 also offers French, Asian, Multifire and Diamond VIP roulettes. For blackjack, you get to choose between the standard version, Buster and Squeeze.
BetMGM doesn’t have a search function but you can use the hover text to filter out games. All categories except for Casinos Games and Live Dealer are listed here and you can also select all games or only featured ones. At the bottom you will find the list of game providers and by hiding them, you can speed up the loading times of the lobby.
Speaking of loading times, both sites could improve in this department. When switching between games at bet365, there is a delay of about 3 seconds which feels like an eternity. In case of BETMGM, it takes around 8 seconds until the last game in the list becomes visible. Also a bit too long in our opinion.
International Flavor at bet365
If you have ever played on bet365’s main site in England or one of the many other regulated countries, you know that the international version of their lobby is on a different level. They have dedicated menus for different game types including Exclusive, Must-Go Jackpots, Daily Specials, Slots, Classic, Drop & Wins, Slingo, Casino (table games), Roulette, Blackjack, Card and Dice, Scratchcards, Virtual Sports, Video Poker, Jackpot Drops and Live Casino. That’s 27 different categories if you’re counting and even though you don’t need all of those menus in the US, it would still be nice to have a few more main categories.
No Deposit Required Casino Sites in the UK (2023) - Top Free Spins OffersWhen it comes to the actual games, the US version is severely limited when compared to Germany, India or the UK. To name just a few examples, popular slots like Book of Dead, Starburst and Big Bass Bonanza are nowhere to be found, nor are popular card games like Texas Hold’em Bonus, Three Card Poker, Four Card Poker and Hi-Lo Solitaire.
On the bright side, bet365 offers a couple of exclusive games that you won’t find anywhere else, such as the aforementioned Texas Hold’em Side Bet or the Millionaire Genie slot. Speaking of the latter, every tenth spin delivers in one of the genie’s jackpot and gives you the chance to win several million dollars. At the time of writing, the prize had already exceeded $7.5 million.
Best Online Casinos in Canada - Top Canadian Casino Sites 2023Another advantage of bet365 are the roulette options. No other US casino comes close to their selection of different variants and bet365 is the only operator in Pennsylvania who also offers unlimited double downs in blackjack.
Live Dealer at bet365
If you enjoy playing at the live dealer casino, bet365 is the better choice when compared to BetMGM. While BETMGM currently only offers four games (Blackjack, Roulette, Infinite Blackjack and First Person Baccarat), bet365 has nine options – three Blackjack, two Roulette, one Baccarat, one Wheel, one Dice and two Poker games.
It’s worth noting that First Person Baccarat and First Person Roulette are not available in Pennsylvania. Instead players have to settle for the Evolution-powered versions which aren’t bad per se, but First Person definitely caters to a different target audience.
Casino Michigan ReviewAs for the bet365 live dealer games, all blackjacks are provided by their own studio while they have separate partnerships for the roulette, wheel, dice and poker games. Evolution powers the baccarat and and both studios provide high quality streams. A downside is that none of the dealers have music in the background which can get a bit boring after a while.
You can play double down and 9/6 blackjack for $5 whereas all other games cost $10 minimum. Another cool feature are the pre-decision options in blackjack and side bets in all games. Even though bet365 has more games, BETMGM in general provides a smoother streaming experience without any buffering.
baccarat casino oddsBETMGM: STRONG ON MOBILE DEVICES
Although the BETMGM desktop version isn’t as advanced as the bet365 one, their mobile apps put bet365’s to shame. While you can only install the international bet365 app on PCs running Windows or Mac, BETMGM offers native apps for Android and iOS. Bet365 doesn’t even have a web app so you can only use the mobile browser to login and place bets on sports. So if you want to gamble, you are restricted to the US version of the website.
Luckily the mobile browser works quite well and doesn’t feel any different from using the desktop version. All elements are large enough to avoid accidental clicks and the different sections (Casino, Live Casino, Sports) have their own icon in the bottom bar. Speaking of live dealer, the mobile browser works even better for that purpose since you can rotate your phone in landscape mode to get a larger view of the tables. On the other hand, the stream shrinks to postcard format on the desktop live casino page when holding a smartphone.
When using the BETMGM mobile browser on an iPhone, you get the option to add a shortcut to the home screen which basically installs an app without going through the App Store. This way you can avoid the 15 second lag that all official Native apps have and enjoy a smooth gaming experience.
The difference is less severe on Android but we still recommend using the mobile browser there as well. The BETMGM play store app was last updated in November 2021 whereas their iOS app hasn’t been changed since September 2020. Both apps receive frequent complaints by users about bugs and glitches.
CONCLUSION: BOTH OPERATORS HAVE ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
Seven out of ten Pennsylvanians approve this comparison.
Neither operator convinced us in every category. BetMGM has a better live dealer section while bet365 excels when it comes to table games and offers some unique slots and jackpots.
In terms of software, BETMGM is the better choice due to their more recent platform and faster mobile browsers. But we hope that both companies invest some of their vast amounts of cash into improving their software. Delay times need to go and the lobby structure should change.
No Deposit Bonuses (And 5 No Deposit Free Spins Bonuses) for January 2023For example, why does BETMGM list all of their games in one long list? Why can’t I make my own favorites section? And when will bet365 unleash their full potential on the US market? We might never find out but what we do know is that neither operator uses more than 10% of their international game catalog. There is plenty of room for growth and we expect both companies to step on the gas pedal in 2022. Until then, feel free to check out our and reviews to find an online casino that suits your needs right now.
