Open-Source Gambling: How to Run Online Casino Software on *nix
From the start, I want it to be clear that I love open source software. And it's not just because I'm cheap. The ideals of community, common development and free modification are noble and worthwhile. Even though it can be difficult at first to get up to speed with the terminology like 'binaries', 'apt-get', 'kernel' etc. once you wade your way into the open source world, it becomes more gratifying.
I'm also an avid online poker player. The problem is is that there aren't enough options for online gamblers to choose from. If you do a search for online poker and Linux you get only about ten options from to choose. This isn't fair to those of us who choose to use *nix not because it's free but because it's better. Online casinos don't seem to realize that the number of open source OS users increases every day. And if any of those open source users are online gambler of any strip - online poker, online blackjack, or even online keno - the online casinos will lose their business. Open source users tend to be very “brand loyal” and will not use or support an application if isn't open source. Besides, for every proprietary software there is an open source alternative. And in the case where the open-source software isn't quite as good, it's always improving.
For the hardcore online gambler who loves gambling more than supporting open source, there are ways to play proprietary software with Linux. The first way is to use the Windows emulator, Wine. Wine works well when it's supported but updates are slow and last time I checked, the latest version of Photoshop supported was 7. But, there are articles online about how to use online casino software with wine so you can learn how to play craps online or play roulette online and play as much as you desire - pick your poison.
Personally, I don't like to use Wine if the program isn't supported explicitly by the Wine development team. The second option for online gambling is to install a virtual machine program so that you can actually run Windows inside of Linux (likewise, you can run Linux inside of Windows for the Linux-curious out there). If your system has enough memory, you can run any Windows-based online casino software with little if any problems. A good virtual machine program is VMware. It's relatively easy to set up and you'll be betting on the dealer in baccarat before you know it.
Using Wine or VMware to run online casino software in Linux is a good temporary solution but for those of us who detest using any proprietary software, there exists another option. Learn to gamble online or do the exact opposite and freeze your accounts and be explicit with the casino online. Tell them you support open source and even if their software will never be open, at least run it on Linux. If the online casinos are aware of how large a number of users are willing to boycott their software unless they support Linux, changes will undoubtedly soon follow.
And, if nothing changes, there's always the option of getting together with your fellow open-sourcers to play poker live and in person. It might even be more fun. Keep all the money within the open source community.
So, good luck and happy gambling online or otherwise.
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