An estimated 55.7% of Americans played games on their mobile phones in 2016, and that number is expected to rise to 58.9% for 2017. As such, it's no surprise that more and more titles are being churned out daily. And as much as we love our games, we love them even more when they cost us nothing! For you Android aficionados, here's a helpful list of five great games you can play on your handheld that are all free (with in-app purchases).

By now, most of us are well aware of the Pokémon GO phenomenon. The game became the most popular mobile title of all time in July of 2016, reaching 21 million active users (the prior record holder was Candy Crush Saga, which boasted 20 million active users in 2013). With such immense initial success, it comes as no surprise that the fervor over Pokémon GO has since toned down a bit; but the game is still a winner, particularly given the free price tag. For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past year, the objective of Pokémon GO is to "catch" Pokémon by exploring the real world to locate them. New upgrades include the addition of "legendary" Pokémon and raid battles. The game is constantly evolving and is well worth a try, even if it's just to see what all the fuss is about.

Ever since the release of popular titles like Pole Position and Outrun back in the 80s, we have always been fascinated with racing games. Rather than becoming stale, this gaming genre continues to change with the times. Two great racing games that you can enjoy gratis are Asphalt Xtreme and Asphalt 8: Airborne, both created by Gameloft. If you can tolerate their assertive in-app purchase strategy, then both titles are quite enjoyable. Released just last year, Asphalt Xtreme puts you behind the wheel of an off-road machine and gives you the opportunity to unlock additional vehicles. It includes an online multiplayer mode and offers you many courses to race through. Asphalt 8: Airborne has been around since 2013, but it has a massive amount of content for you to experience. Like Xtreme, it also offers an online multiplayer option, as well as additional activities for you to enjoy.

If you like first-person shooters, you should check out Critical Ops. In a variety of urban-style settings, you can either battle against or play the game as a rebel yourself. Critical Ops has a substantial online multiplayer following, so feel free to invite your gamer friends to play against you. The programmers are still working out some of the kinks, but they update the game regularly. While it's still a work in progress, it's still a quality title at "the right price".

Famous for creating Clash of Clans, Supercell has most recently released Clash Royale, which you can play as an alternative to Hearthstone. The game allows you to build decks, collect cards and engage in individual battles with online challenges. You'll be given many opportunities to unlock new cards, and you can also form clans to share cards. You will also earn trophies when victorious, but you'll also lose them when you've been vanquished.

Lastly, if you're in the mood for a brainy, creative strategy game, then look no further. Your goal in Plague, Inc. is to mutate diseases with the sole purpose of infecting the earth's populace. You're given multiple viruses to consider unleashing, each with their own outbreak characteristics. One special feature of Plague, Inc. is that it gives you the option of saving multiple games so that you can play several iterations at once. The game's infection simulations are so realistic that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention invited the developers to be guest speakers at their headquarters.

We fully expect our list of free Android favorites to fluctuate from time to time as more games enter the market. We're also looking forward to more of our favorite online games (like Super Rally Extreme, Power Up and Traffic Slam 3) being made available on the mobile Android platform. One thing that the Android faithful know for sure is that the best free titles are yet to come!

The highly rumored Razer Phone is finally here, but is it really the ultimate gaming machine on the go that you were waiting for? Check out the specs below and decide for yourself!

5.72 inch-LCD display, 120hz refresh rate, 1440 x 2560 pixels resolution (515 ppi)

Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC

8GB of RAM

64GB internal storage with expandable card slot

Dual 12-megapixel cameras on the back (telephoto + wide angle)

8-megapixel front camera

4,000mAh battery

Android Nougat 7.1.1

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, and NFC, fingerprint sensor in the power button

No audio jack but THX certified 3.5mm to USB-C DAC adapter included

Available for $699 from November 17

In my personal opinion, I am a bit disappointed to see the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC powering the Razer Phone. Granted that it is still the most powerful Android chip, it's not even comparable with the Apple 10X Fusion chip on the iPad Pro and certainly not the latest A11 Bionic powering the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X when it comes to computing power. It would have been nice to see the Razer Phone debut with something special to offer, other than just the brand name!

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

See who have managed to receive the highest Jackpot payouts from online slots. Find out whether they manage to maintain their wealth.

 

Gambling has won people money. Huge sums of money. Punters have gone from a state of poverty to riches with just one round of play, or a few rounds. Lives have been transformed. Or have they? The truth is, even with the one in a million chances of winning a jackpot, or huge prizes from gambling, there are people that have won money. Large sums of money. And these people's lives have not been the same ever since.

While all online gambling games can give you victory, including table games like the roulette for real money cash, most wins have been from the slots. The focus here will be on largest jackpots ever won from playing slots. There is proof that there are real-life gambling successes. Here are a few.

Online Slot Jackpot Winners

This will probably make sense if we start from the 10th highest slot jackpot and climax with the highest jackpot ever won. So here we go;

10. €6,945,045

This jackpot was won on the 8th April 2016, by an anonymous young man in New Zealand. The jackpot was won after a game of the Dark Knight by Microgaming. The actual amount that was won was AU$10,423,223.

9. €7,437,182

Nicknamed Wellzy, won this amount after a game of Mega Fortune on BGO Online Casino. Although he chose to remain anonymous, Wellzy, a citizen of the UK was in the Guinness Book of World Records as the highest amount ever won from an online slot for a while.

8. €7,673,975

A Swedish lady was only going by the initials L.G. (Life's Good, maybe) played a game of Hall of Gods by Net Entertainment on a regular day in November of 2012. That day would change her life forever after she won the jackpot worth €7.6 million. This Norse mythological themed slot would see L.G. relocate to Thailand with her family and bought a house and a car.

7. €7,896,857

Rawiri Pou will live to remember June 17th, 2016, the Friday; he became an instant sensation when he won NZ$10,143,123 over a game of Mega Moolah on Casinoland.com. Hopefully, he is still living his best life, yet, since then.

6. €7,968,311

D.P. another female punter was playing her Mega Moolah on the Zodiac casino on her her phone. Next thing she saw was a notification of her tremendous win of an amount she probably only dreamt of if she was that ambitious. This amount goes on record as the highest ever won while playing on a mobile device, her iPad. D.P. chose to remain anonymous, and we wish her the best life as she goes about spending the grand moolah.

5. €8,437,742

November, 5th 2016, Mr. Marcus Goodwin, a Canadian, was playing Mega Moolah on YakoCasino. Goodwin would get a good win from his game and his life, and that of his family changed forever, or so we hope.

4. €8,577,104

The 8th of November, 2015, was probably just another ordinary, maybe even boring, day for one Alexander. The player from Sweden decided to indulge in some online gaming to kill the boredom, hoping for the usual small wins and losses. Lady luck decided, why not visit Alexander, today? And Alexander would end up €8,577,104 richer. The player has remained low-key since his win. We sure hope the money was put to good use.

3. €11,700,000

Betsson.com casino produced a winner on September 24th, 2011. A young Norwegian man would play the Mega Fortune slot on that day and join the list of young millionaires.

2. €17,860,868

A Finnish 40-year-old man decided to play a few games on the PFO Casino to pass time, perhaps entertain himself. Placing 25 cents bets on Mega Fortune, another slot courtesy of Microgaming. A few spins later, this punter, who opted to remain anonymous, would hold a place in the Guinness Book of World records for his close to 20 million jackpot win. And another person was an instant millionaire!

€17,879,645

This amount was won by a Corporal of the United Kingdom becoming a world record holder and is listed in the Guinness Book of World records. Jonathan Heywood won this amount on October, 6th, 2015 after a game of Mega Moolah, one of the largest progressive jackpots there is.  The game was played on the Betway online Casino. This still remains the highest jackpot ever won. Heywood played with a ₤30  placing 25p per spin and a few spins later, the 25-year-old (then) was an instant millionaire.

Downside to Instant Riches

There is a trend that you have probably noticed already. The people that have worked hard to become millionaires or billionaires usually maintain that status quo over the years. If anything, their wealth keeps increasing. They know the pain of starting something from nothing and growing it into something. Because of the lessons they have accrued as they started their business, they are keen on how they spend their money. If they splurge, at least they have measures in place to make the money grow.

This, however, is not the case with overnight winners. Most punters receive the money and want to do everything, literally. The good, and the vices. In the end, the only show of wealth for some of these people is recorded information in the media, the internet, and the casinos they won at. Okay, it is not every one of them, yes. Some go on to successfully invest their wins and are living better lives, but others manage to successfully squander millions on alcohol, drugs and partying.

There are hundreds of other huge jackpot wins besides those Illustrated here. This goes to show that gambling can lead to some great success stories. Importantly is, however, how to use the win. It's always important to hire a financial manager to avoid ending up bankrupt, or in a state worse than the one you were in before your "golden handshake."

Online casinos, no matter what the platform, are a multi trillion pound business. There are millions of people around the world who log on to online casino sites on a regular basis to play their favourite games such as blackjack, poker, roulette and the slots. The fact that there are so many online casino operators out there means that they are only going to continue to grow in popularity too, especially now that people have the option to play on various devices whenever they wish.

There's no denying that the internet changed the casino world, and for the better too. You can't deny the industry hasn't continued to move with the times and this is probably the main reason it has been consistently successful. First of all, when the Internet first arrived, we saw people playing at online casinos via their desktop computers. This was done either in browser or by downloading the casino's software to the PC. Nowadays, the trends suggest that more and more people are opting to play on their smartphones and tablets, rather than their desktops or laptops.

Online casino operators practically encourage it too and this has been a growing trend for a number of years. Due to the advancements made in technology, smartphones and tablets have become more and more powerful, especially recently. They were always tipped to be mini computers, but now the lines between an actual desktop and a top of the range smart phone are becoming more and more blurred. Some smartphones and tablets actually have more power than a computer believe it or not. So a growing trend is that operators are looking to encourage users to play on the go so to speak.

It's common place for online casinos to offer their new customers bonuses and to do promotions on a regular basis. Usually these are based on the first few deposits made as in matched deposits and then loyalty points are accrued over time. A trend we're seeing now is that not only have online casino operators shelled out for the development of apps for both iOS and Android, but they're offering separate bonuses and incentives to get people to sign up and play; regardless of whether the user already visits via a desktop. So this shows that the operators themselves have been instrumental in the growing trend that has seen so many people preferring to gamble on the go rather than play via a desktop computer.

The most visited online casinos tend to be those that are operated by the biggest names in sports betting really, especially when it comes to UK users. The fact that Google Play have now started to allow gambling apps back into their store after a 4 year absence, will only serve to make gaming and gambling on the go even more popular. Smartphones and tablets are still playing catch up when it comes to desktops, but they're beginning to close the gap and it won't be too long before they take an even bigger share of the casino market.

Mobile gambling Apps are now available for almost all high-end Operating Systems. You can now download Windows Apps, Android Apps, iPhone and Ipad Apps and Blackberry thanks to the availability of high-tech geeks. As well, there are social media gambling Apps. Today's latest technology of HTML5 has enabled mobile-optimized websites which is compatible with all devices. Mobile gambling App consumption is expected to hit 168 million users by 2018. Consequently, there is a neck-to-neck competition of creating the best apps in the market. Here is our highly researched list of the best gambling apps in 2017. 

However, note that finding real money gambling App on Playstore is next to impossible because of the Google does not permit it.

Go For: 888 Casino App

888 Casino App is powered by Net Entertainment which is focused on providing top-notch games with amazing qualities. This is a totally safe App to download and receives £88 free gift. 888 App is compatible with iPhones and pads running on iOS 3.2 or higher and Android devices 4.0 and higher. You will find a great collection of over 60 mobile games including Live dealer games. However, the table games are only limited to Blackjack. NetEnt has also included a variety of payment methods including major Credit cards and e-wallets like PayPal and skrill.

Go For: William Hill Casino App

William Hill is a Playtech Flash App with a collection of over 150 mobile optimized games. All these money can only be played for real money, just as you would expect from Playtech casino apps. The App has simple navigation properties to enabling shifting between betting games and sports. If you are a slot's maniac, William Hill is here to serve you. You will enjoy amazing slots like Halloween Fortune, Gladiator Jackpot, and Super Diamond Deluxe among others.

You can access William Hill mobile casino games on Blackberry, Android, Windows or iOS, but you must first install the following browsers, Chrome, Safari, Opera or Firefox.

Go For: Royal Panda App

Royal Panda is fully licensed casino by Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) and UK Gambling Commission. This browser-based mobile casino is compatible with all iOS and Android-powered devices.  The current casino geeks behind Royal Panda games are Net Entertainment, NextGen Gaming, Evolution Gaming, and Microgaming. This mobile version offers a total of 200 games led by video slots, live casino games, video poker, jackpot games and table games. New customers have a welcome bonus which comes in hand y with free spins. There is a comprehensive range of deposit methods in Royal Panda app like Neteller, Skrill, Mastercard and Visa Cards.

Go For:  Spin Palace Casino App

Spin Palace is a veteran of online casino industry powered by Microgaming with a well functioning lobby.  This eCogra certified casino has an array of games to keep you entertained while earning. Among them, we have slots, video poker, roulette, and blackjack.  There is a 24/7 support team available in a choice of language through email, phone call or live chat. New members are entitled to a welcome bonus of up to $1000. One good thing about Spin Palace is that is compatible with all mobile devices in the market. You must download the gaming app before you can access the game lobby which has games with fine graphics. Moreover, players can make their payments through trust worthy banking options like wire transfer, MasterCard, skrill or Neteller.

Go For: Bet365 Mobile App

Bet365 is a leading UK casino service provider for Smart phone or tablet users. All their games can now be accessed on mobile-based browsers, thanks to HTML5 technology. That said, there is more than 250 high quality engaging mobile games created by Playtech including card games, slots, video poker, jackpots, table games and live dealer games. You will also enjoy live dealer games like Hold'em Poker, Live Sic Bo, and Live Baccarat both from Asian and European providers. The RTP at Bet365 is exceptionally high at 97.78%. The casino has a dedicated and response customer support team which is available 24 hrs a day.

Go For: BetVictor Mobile App

Betvictor gambling app is easy to operate and is fully licensed by UK Gambling Commission and the Government of Gibraltar which allows them to offers service everywhere. Most of the games listed here are slots which come in impressive graphics. The huge collection of games includes 260 mobile slots, 4 mobile roulette games, and 5 blackjack mobile variants. This App requires iOS 7 or Android OS to run smoothly. Betvictor punters enjoy a 100% match bonus on their first deposit with abundant trust worthy payment options. Moreover, you will enjoy a knowledgeable customer support team which is available 24/7. You can select the language you are comfortable with and get assistance accordingly. Lastly, Betvictor app uses SSL encryption technology to ensure that all your data is safe and secure.