this used to be a much bigger question back in the early days of online gaming. Most people were connecting to the internet through their phone lines, and even visitng websites that had a lot of images was quite a bother because it would take between 30 seconds and several minutes to load a web page. Downloading an entire program could take hours.
Things have changed.
Now, many people have a superfast internet connection through their cable company, satleeite provider or via DSL. It's no longer such a time-consuming chore to download casino games, but the "no download" versions of the online casinos still remain popular. There are a few reasons for this.
Mac Compatible - iMac Casinos
For a long time Mac users suffered from a lack of attention from the online casinos. Now, since nearly every major casino software provider has a set of their games in a "Flash" version, mac users can sit right next to the Windows computer people at the blackjack tables, or in our case, right beside them on a slot machine.
When you visit an online casino's website, they usually have "Download" buttons all over the place, and the next thing that should catch your eye is the "Instant Play" or "Flash Casino" buttons. Those are the Mac-friendly casino games, and having Mac compatible casino games is a good enough reason for all of the major casinos to provide both a full downloadable version of their games and a "Flash Casino".
No Programs to Download
Sometimes I find myself in a situation where I really can't download a program. I might be using a laptop that I share with others, visiting family, or at work. If the casino, or pokerroom to be honest, has a no download version of their games, I can still do some gaming in these situations. If they don't, I won't be spending any time playing online until I return home.
So, one other advantage to having a no download casino is being able to keep customers like me happy when I find myself in a situation where playing at the "regular" casino is not a possibility.
Different Games Between the Casinos
One thing to keep in mind is that casios generally do not offer all the same games in both their download and no download versions.
No download casinos generally have less games, but all of the bases are covered. They will almost certianly have all the most popular slots and video pokers that the casino offers. And they also have the most popular table games like roulette and blackjack.
Sometimes the flash casino will offer games that do not appear in the download casino package.
If you're looking for Fruit Machines at Microgaming casinos - check the list of games offered in Flash from the casino. I've seen several instances where the Instant Play casino had more fruit machines than the "regular" casino!
