Casino app favourites and recently played

What casino app favourites and recently played lists do

A modern casino lobby can hold thousands of games, and on a six-inch screen that means a lot of thumb-scrolling. Two features cut that down. Favourites (sometimes called My Games, Saved or a heart tab) is a list you build yourself by marking games you want to come back to. Recently played (Recent, Last Played, Continue Playing or Jump Back In) builds itself: each time you open a game, the app records it and shows the newest at the front.

Both are simple pointers to games already in the lobby. They don’t change the game, its RTP, your stake options or any bonus attached to your account. Starring Big Bass Bonanza doesn’t give you a different version of it; it just puts the tile one tap away from the home screen. If you are still learning how a lobby is organised, our guide to finding games in a casino app covers search, filters and categories.

Where the lists sit inside a casino app

There is no industry standard layout, so each brand puts its shortcuts in a slightly different place. In practice you will meet one of four patterns:

• A lobby tab or chip row. A strip of categories across the top of the casino home (Featured, New, Slots, Live, Favourites). Swipe it sideways if the last chips are hidden off the right edge of a narrow phone.
• A carousel on the home screen. A horizontal row called Recently Played or Jump Back In, usually just below the banners. On a small screen, it may be the second or third row, so scroll down a little.
• Inside the account or profile menu. Tap your avatar, initials or balance, then look for My Games or Favourites.
• Inside the search screen. Some apps show recent games and recent searches as soon as you tap the magnifying glass, before you type anything.

Store descriptions occasionally name these features. Casumo’s App Store listing, for example, says the iOS app offers Quick Launch of the last four slots you played and a home screen widget. Most other listings don’t mention favourites at all, which doesn’t mean the feature is missing; it is simply something to look for in the lobby once you have installed the app.

How to add a game to favourites, step by step

The method is almost identical on iPhone and Android, because the lobby is drawn by the casino rather than by the phone’s operating system.

1. Open the casino app and sign in with your password, Face ID or fingerprint.
2. Find the game through search or a category, but don’t launch it yet.
3. Look for a small heart or star in a corner of the game tile. If you can’t see one, press and hold the tile or tap the ‘i’ (info) icon to open the game’s details panel.
4. Tap the heart or star. It normally fills in with colour, and some apps show a short message such as ‘Added to favourites’.
5. Go to the Favourites or My Games tab and check the game is there. If it isn’t, pull down on the list to refresh it.
6. To remove the game later, tap the filled heart or star again, either on the tile or inside the list.

How recently played works and what it records

Recently played is usually populated the moment a game finishes loading, whether or not you placed a bet. Open a game, change your mind and close it, and it may still appear at the front of the row. That is why the list can look busier than your actual play.

It is not the same as your gambling record. If you want to know what you actually staked, won or lost, use the account history instead: our guide on checking your play history explains where to find it and how to filter by date. The transaction history shows deposits and withdrawals separately.

Do favourites sync between your phone, tablet and the website?

A casino app is a front end to the same account you use on the website, so anything the operator saves against your account follows you. Where favourites are stored on the casino’s servers, starring a game on your iPhone means it also shows on an iPad or a laptop browser after you sign in. Recently played lists are more variable: some are account-based, some are kept in the app’s local storage on that particular device.

A quick test tells you which you have. Star a game on your phone, then sign in on a second device or the mobile website and look for it. If it appears, the list is saved to your account. If it doesn’t, it lives only on the phone, so treat it as disposable. Our page on using a casino app on two devices covers the wider rules, including why only one session may be active at a time.

Why your favourites or recently played games disappeared

A list that suddenly empties is almost always explained by one of the causes below. None of them affect your balance, which is held on your account rather than in the app.

On Android, Clear cache removes temporary files and is generally safe, while Clear storage or Clear data resets the app to a fresh install and signs you out. On iPhone, there is no separate cache button for most apps; Offload App (Settings > General > iPhone Storage) keeps documents and data, while Delete App removes them. Our glossary entry on app cache explains the difference in more detail.

Favourites and recent games on iPhone vs Android

The lists themselves behave the same on both platforms, but the phone around them adds a few differences worth knowing.

• Home screen shortcuts. On Android, long-pressing an app icon can reveal shortcuts the developer has added; on iPhone, the long-press menu and widgets play a similar role. Casumo’s iOS listing mentions a home screen widget. Whether a given app offers shortcuts is up to its developer.
• Storage resets. Android lets you clear an app’s data without uninstalling it, which wipes locally stored recent games. iPhone users usually lose local history only when deleting the app.
• Two apps from one brand. Some brands have separate casino and sportsbook apps; others combine them. Favourites saved in a combined app may sit under a Casino tab rather than the main home screen.
• Browser bookmarks. If you play on the mobile site rather than an app, a browser bookmark or a home screen shortcut for the casino site works alongside the in-lobby favourites.

Keeping your favourites list useful

A favourites list works best when it is short and deliberate. A few habits help:

1. Check the game’s RTP before you save it. Open the game’s help or paytable screen; our guide to finding a slot’s RTP in an app shows where. Two casinos can run the same slot at different RTP settings.
2. Save games for a reason you can name: a low minimum stake, a feature you understand, or a high-RTP slot you have read about.
3. Remove games you no longer play every few weeks, so the list stays readable without scrolling.
4. Keep table and live games together if the app mixes everything in one list, so you don’t open a video stream by accident on mobile data.

Favourites don’t stop working when a bonus is active, but a bonus may only count on certain games. If you have spins or bonus funds, check that your saved game is on the eligible list before you play.

Shortcuts and safer gambling

Recently played rows and ‘Jump back in’ prompts are designed to make returning to a game quicker. That is helpful when you have planned a session, and less helpful if you open the app to check a withdrawal and end up spinning. Gambling is paid entertainment, and over time the house edge means losses are more likely than wins, so it is worth making sure the shortcuts serve your plan.

• Set a deposit limit before you build a favourites list; our casino app limits guide shows where the setting lives.
• Turn on reality checks so a reminder appears after a set time in a game.
• Mute promotional notifications that link straight into games; see casino app notifications.
• If you notice you are opening games from the recent row without meaning to, a time-out is a few taps away in the safer gambling menu, and the National Gambling Helpline (0808 8020 133) is free and open 24/7.

Licensed apps with quick game shortcuts

Casumo’s iOS listing names Quick Launch for your last four slots and a home screen widget, and its Android app covers the same casino account. Coral’s dedicated casino app lists slots, table games and live casino in its store descriptions. Both are licensed by the Gambling Commission, and both welcome offers carry terms (18+, T&Cs apply), so read them in full before you deposit.

18+. Gambling should be entertainment that costs money, not a way to make it. Set a deposit limit before you play: how to set limits. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.