1. Gambling Winnings On A Cruise Ship
2. Cape Canaveral Gambling Cruise Ships

QUESTION: You've stated that casinos are regulated to make sure that slot machines are random and honest. Who regulates the casino slot machines on cruise ships? — Phillip W.

1. Your Cruise Card is also your players card in the Casino. When you play the slot machines, you insert your card in the machine and leave it in, for the table games you need to hand in your card to the Casino Dealer for all your sessions of play and they will log you on.
2. Try your luck on with a wide variety of slot machines, ranging from penny slots to more lucrative machines. Plus join one of many table games and see what the cards have in store while you play. Discover the fantastic games and machines at the cruise casinos onboard Royal Caribbean Cruises.

American cruise ship casinos got their start in 1991 when the United States Flag Cruise Ship Competitiveness Act was passed. It amended the preexisting laws and allowed American ships to offer gambling games and devices in international waters.

ANSWER: Cruise ship gambling came about with the 1991 Cruise Ship Competitiveness Act, which gave U.S. ships the opportunity to offer games once they hit international waters.

The gambling laws for land-based casinos are clear. It is far more difficult to know who is setting and enforcing the laws at sea. There is an organization called the International Council of Cruise Lines that offers some regulatory control. Unfortunately, it's nowhere near the level of the control exercised over U.S. land-based casinos. Cruise ships operate in international waters and are not bound by land-based casino regulations.

If you happen to have a dispute, you won't likely find an ICCL agent on board. Your alternative is to speak to the casino manager, or, if you're still not satisfied, bring your concern to the attention of the hotel manager. Those are pretty much your resolution options.

Regulations or not, lack of competition gives casinos little reason to cheat the captive masses. Competition is what raises slot payoffs. On the open water, cruise ships have no competition, just a confined audience. The casino knows you're a one-timer on a holiday and that your pockets are full of cash. It isn't looking for repeat business because you're probably never coming back.

As a one-time player, you can plan on a bruising when cruising when it comes to paybacks on slot machines. The payback percentages, at best, are awful.

I would recommend avoiding playing slot machines aboard cruise ships. There are plenty of other activities to enjoy besides pulling handles. Come to think of it, the yanking motion required to use the elliptical trainers aboard most ships is similar to playing a one-armed bandit.

Q: Does a slot machine know the amount of money deposited at the start of play? If so, does that have any bearing on the payout? — Bev G.

A: Yes, Bev, a software program that runs on a slot machine knows exactly how much money you have put in. It needs to know how many credits you have involved on the next spin in order to light the Bet Max button and any of the other options the machine has.

As for your final results, the amount of money deposited has no effect on the random number generator, and the machine doesn't care how many credits you have remaining, have played or are playing on the next spin. Many gaming jurisdictions have specific regulations stating that the random number generator can have no influence whatsoever on the number of coins played.

Mark Pilarski is a contributing editor for numerous gambling publications. E-mail questions to pilarski@markpilarski.com.

If you're fond of the idea of gambling whilst cruising the high seas, you might as well go big and try your luck on some of the world's largest cruise ships! That’s right, nowadays you’ll find a fully-fledged out casino on many cruise ships out there. So, why not gamble it up when you’re on holiday whilst cruising your way by sea and making your way to exotic locations? Sounds awesome, no? Below you’ll find our comprehensive list of the best cruise ship casinos and what to expect whilst playing your favorite game at the ship’s casino and cruising the high seas.

Gambling Winnings On A Cruise Ship

8 of the Best Cruise Ship Casinos in the World

1. Allure of the Seas

Royal Caribbean cruise liners have several entries in the world's best gambling cruise ship list but the Allure of the Seas tops them all. This ship is an Oasis-class cruise ship that’s even longer than its sister ship Oasis of the Seas and has also got its very own casino to boot! While at the mini-Vegas at sea, you’ll be able to play most games you’d typically find at a brick-and-mortar casino. Of course, these include a wide selection of machine operated Slots games, Roulette, Blackjack, Baccarat and several other games that you’d typically find at their brick-and-mortar casinos. Whilst at Casino Royale on board the Allure of the Seas, you’ll be able to enjoy a cocktail without even heading to the bar every time you run out of alcohol.

2. Norwegian Epic

As implied by this ships name, the Norwegian Epic, which is 1,081 ft long, is a very, very big boat and an epic one at that! You can enjoy live Cirque du Soleil shows on board and try a few spins yourself in the Epic Casino, which offers an elegant atmosphere with hundreds of slots as well as table games including Blackjack, Craps, and Roulette.

3. Freedom of the Seas

This Royal Caribbean cruise liner is just over 1,100 feet long and offers plenty of gambling options, although its casino is slightly smaller than the one on Oasis of the Sea. The Vegas-style Casino Royale casino has over 10,000 square feet of gaming floor and over 300 slots and 19 table games to choose from, including popular options such as Blackjack and Roulette.

4. Queen Mary 2

Although the Queen Mary 2’s casino is on the cozy side, it definitely doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have anything to offer. In fact, it’s quite the opposite (and this is exactly why it’s made it to our best cruise ship casinos list). Cunard Line's flagship cruise liner offers a glamourous casino that’s reminiscent of many of the land based casinos you’ll find in Monte Carlo. Here you’ll be able to live it up and gamble away to your heart’s content by playing any one of the casino’s 100 slots games and 12 gaming tables where players are given the option of trying their luck at Blackjack, Three Card Poker, Craps, Roulette, and Caribbean Stud poker.

5. Royal Princess

The Royal Princess ,with its 1,083 foot long cruise ship, offers plenty of great casino options such as the standard fare of Slots and Blackjack as well as progressive jackpots on many games and daily bingo games, if that's what floats your boat when it comes to more casual, social gambling.

6. All Celebrity Cruises ships

Provided that you’d like to gamble in an ultra-luxurious setting, most Celebrity Cruises’s fleet of ships (with the exception of the Celebrity Xpedition) offer an array of casino games including a wide selection of Slots as well as table games like Blackjack, Roulette, Craps, Three-card Poker and even Texas Hold’ Em. What’s especially exciting about casinos on board these particular cruise ship, called Fortunes Casinos, is that they also have tournaments that you can take part on too!

7. Norwegian Escape

Based in Miami, Florida, the Norwegian Escape usually takes up to 4,266 guests aboard its ship on exotic trips to the Caribbean and the Bahamas. Yet, if cruising away to white sandy beaches isn’t enough to entice you, there’s also a wonderful array of things to do aboard the ship itself, including its very own casino.

The casino aboard the Norwegian Escape, called the Escape Casino, offers a diverse range of approximately 318 slot machines and table games as well as its own VIP area that’s reserved for the high rollers aboard. On visiting the casino aboard the Norwegian Escape, you can expect to find a plethora of casino games including multiple penny Slots games along with several table games including Baccarat, Blackjack, Craps, Let it Ride, 3-card Poker, Texas Hold’em and Pai Gow Poker. Bets for table games start from as low as $5 as for Slots games. Moreover, if you’re a fan of tournaments, you can also expect to find Blackjack, Slots and Texas Hold’Em tournaments. Another fantastic thing about the casino on the Norwegian Escape is its wonderful Reward Program and the fact that smoking is permitted.

8. Oasis of the Sea

If you’re looking to go on holiday, Royal Caribbean International’s cruise ships offer all that you could possible need to relax. And if gambling is one of the things on your mind, the Oasis of the Sea certainly comes highly recommended. As one the of the largest cruise liners operating in the world, it perhaps one of the best cruise ship casinos around. Not only is the ship over 1,000 feet long but it also offers an 18,000 square foot casino complete with nearly 500 slot machines and 27 gaming tables.

The casino entry age varies from cruise to cruise depending on where the ship is sailing to. Typically, it’s 18 for European cruises and 21 for Caribbean cruises.

Sure, the array of casino games doesn’t usually match up to that offered at multiple online casinos present on the web or the array offered at brick-and-mortar casinos in Vegas, but hey they sure do have enough Slots games and table games to keep you entertained for your week or two away on holiday.

It’s common to find tournaments at cruise ship casinos. Such tournaments that are generally offered onboard include Blackjack Tournaments and Slots Tournaments.

Many of the best cruise ship casinos offer fantastic rewards programs you can cash in on after you’ve wagered a certain amount. Typically, reward programs take the form of comp points and offer rewards such as spa treatments/credit, complimentary drinks, dining experiences, shore excursions and even discounts on their next cruises. In addition to this, many of the cruise ship casinos out there will roll out the red carpet for their clientele and offer them VIP perks such as exclusive tournaments for high rollers and special treatment at the casino!

Most land-based casinos in Vegas typically allow smokers the liberty of puffing away as they play as many casino games as their heart desires. And due to the fact that many of the best cruise ship casinos aim to mimic the same experience, you’ll find that very often smoking is permitted whilst playing at casinos onboard.

Cape Canaveral Gambling Cruise Ships

Can't afford to gamble on a cruise ship at the moment? Play online instead!