Online gambling has taken off in a major way, and we’re thankful for it! No more fighting traffic to get to a land-based casino, goodbye queues and best of all, we no longer have to deal with those obnoxious people whose elbows should be classified as deadly weapons at a table.

But if you’re new to the whole casino-from-home thing (check out our newbies guide), all of this might seem a bit daunting. Fear not – BitStarz has you covered! In our definitive guide, we’ll walk you through what you’ll need to set up a comfortable home-based casino experience, so you can spin the reels in style.

Ready to build the ultimate online casino setup? Let’s get to it!

Screen

While tablets and mobile phones might be okay for slot games and playing on the move, it’s not ideal to be squinting at your screen for hours. Also, you wouldn’t want to make a mistake when betting so a decent screen is a must – and it’s possible to connect one to your laptop.

Amazon sells a bunch of second-screen monitors that you can take with you and couple to a variety of devices – check them out here. Plus, we think bigger is better when it comes to soaking up the atmosphere of the biggest slots around.

Chair

If you’re going to be spending a lot of time playing online casino games, and we’re pretty sure you will be, comfort is certainly important. It will help your concentration, so investing in a decent chair is worth the cost if you ask us.

The most popular choice is gaming chairs, as these are specifically designed for the job. They’re not the cheapest, and sometimes the build quality isn’t the best, but they are comfy! A basic office chair will do though, as long as it has decent lumbar support. Check out these options… and they’re also not splashed with crazy colors either!

Internet

The first thing you’ll need if you want to gamble online, is a fast and reliable internet connection. Fiber is faster and more reliable than ADSL so this is definitely the better option. To give yourself a shot at a smooth playing experience, and given that playing online means your device is constantly uploading and downloading data, we’d suggest a line speed of around 20 Mbps down and 10 Mbps up.

Other than line speed, make sure that your latency is as low as possible – latency tells you how long it takes for data to be transferred from one place to another. Looking at this sample test, you’ll see the latency (ping) on the top left.

 

Not sure what your line speed is? Head on over to Speed Test to check it out for free.

Security

The world wide web can be a cruel mistress. Luckily online casinos have invested substantially in making sure that their sites are secure. While all of that might be taken care of, you’ll need to secure your computer and other devices to avoid viruses, malware and other nasties.

The top names in security are Bitdefender, Kaspersky, McAfee and Norton, but there are others. Here’s a link to a comparison test that will highlight the differences between them.

VPN

Following on from good security, another thing worth considering is a VPN (Virtual Private Network). While casinos do their bit, and you’ll hopefully protect your devices too, there’s still the matter of your Internet connection.

Transacting or doing pretty much anything on the Web with an unsecure WiFi network means you could expose your private info and browsing habits. VPNs, unsurprisingly, create a private network and also mask your IP address, which makes your online actions untraceable.

As with security in general, there are a bunch of service providers for VPNs but the top rated ones are ExpressVPN, NordVPN and Surfshark. Check out these comparison tests here and here to choose the right one for you.

If you’ve ever had issues logging into your BitStarz account, or with seeing specific web content, our Google DNS article could help steer you in the right direction.

Keyboard

A comfortable keyboard that’s responsive is pretty important if you’re going to be playing casino games online. For Mac, there’s nothing to rival the Magic Keyboard. It’s also wireless and the battery lasts an inordinate amount of time. Couple that to a Magic Mouse and you’ll be good to go!

You could opt for a non-Mac product but there have been reports of Bluetooth connectivity issues so it’s a bit risky.

For PC keyboards, we recommend the Redragon S101 combo for three reasons: it’s price, you get a mouse with it, and the fact that some 28,000 reviewers can’t all be wrong – 76% gave it 5 stars. The downside is that it’s pretty obnoxious looking with all of the lights behind the keys and that it doesn’t use Bluetooth.

If you’d rather rock something a bit more subtle that’s also Bluetooth enabled, check out the Logitech Ergo K860. While it’s a bit pricier than even the Mac keyboard, some 3,600 reviewers reckon it’s the bee’s knees and 81% gave it 5 stars.

Headphones

Some players like to listen to music or white noise while they gamble, or simply immerse themselves in the sounds of a top slot. That being said, you won’t need a studio-quality device but we’d suggest getting a Bluetooth option as you won’t want cables getting in your way while spinning the wheels. For Mac, you could either go the AirPod route or the well-priced Beats Flex.

With a little help from some tech, everyone’s a winner!

And that pretty much covers all you need to know about successfully, and comfortably, playing casino games from the comfort of your own home. Of course, if you’re looking for the very best gambling experience, head on over to BitStarz and give us a try. With 3,000+ games to choose from, and incredible customer support, there’s never been a better reason to get your game on!