Choosing the right casino can be tricky. While some go for the ‘named and famed’ ones, the new and emerging casinos offer better bonuses. This is especially true when you play online, with countless new and willing casinos emerging all the time.
If you are a newbie and looking to take your first steps in the world of online gambling, you may find it arduous to distinguish between rogue casinos and genuine operators. Although government regulations – and the industry’s efforts – have weeded out most bad apples, some still exist. And even if they are not bad actors, some casinos have a bad track record, and you’d better avoid them.
Here is a brief checklist you can refer to and determine if the casino is right or not.
Check the license
For a start, check if the site is fully licensed and regulated by a gaming authority.
To operate in a certain jurisdiction, an online casino requires a license. This can be valid only in certain countries (like the ones issued by Western Cape Racing and Gaming Authority in South Africa), others are accepted in several territories, like the ones issued by the Malta Gaming Authority that are accepted in pretty much every European country.
Since licensed casinos are under a lot of scrutiny, and have a stricter set of rules to observe, they have a smaller chance to disappear overnight, like many online casinos have done in the past. These licensed operators have to adhere to customer protection and financial rules, making them a safer choice for players. And most importantly, they are transparent, considering their obligation to pay taxes on their activity.
Check user ratings and reviews
Words of praise are sparse online, especially when it comes to online casinos. But players are very quick to criticize gaming outlets when things don’t go their way. This criticism is often valid, and can tell you a great deal about a casino – and so can the way the casino reacts to it.
Gambling forums and blogs can be very useful if you want to find out more about an online casino. Here, real users share their experiences not just with the casino games they play there but about how quickly the payments are processed, how friendly the customer support service is, and how proactively the casino resolves issues that emerge.
See if the casino offers multiple payment methods
Online payments are quick and convenient, and part of our everyday lives today. However, sometimes the payments might be stuck or even fail. In such scenarios, multiple payment options come in handy. Further, as a player, keeping the payment and withdrawal method, the same is quite convenient.
The best online casinos will offer their players a wide variety of payment methods to choose from. Along with the usuals – credit and debit cards, e-wallets like Neteller and Skrill – they will cover several regional payment processors as well, like various quick money transfer services or OTT vouchers.
If a casino has only a very limited number of payment methods, and only operates in international currencies like US dollars and euros, it can be a bad sign. If, in turn, it offers players the chance to make deposits and withdrawals in their local currency, and with payment methods they are familiar with, it’s a more serious and probably better-quality operator.
Go through the game collection
There are online casinos that offer more than 3,000 games from industry-leading providers. And they are where you’ll want to go. There is no point in going for a casino that offers only handful of games, especially if they are games with a high house edge. Although many would think otherwise, gambling is supposed to be fun – and for that, you also need variety.
Furthermore, the best casinos have an immersive live dealer section where you can tell the dealer and talk to them online. Casinos that don’t offer live dealer games nowadays are by far not the best choice. Check the house edge for each game before playing.
Have a look at the gaming providers
The more game providers’ games you can find at a casino, the better. Gone are the days when online casinos stuck to a single studio. Today, there are several casino software platforms, with dozens of game developers filling them with games. It’s not rare to see casinos with thousands of individual titles, and dozens of live dealer games available. If you are looking for a good time, go for these.
Determine if the bonuses are worthy or not
Online casinos compete to attract new users with eye-catching bonuses. These can be free spins, no deposit bonuses, deposit bonuses, discounts, bundles, cashback, and other gifts. Some casinos also offer tournaments, weekly bonuses, daily gifts, and much more.
You always have to read the fine print, though. These bonuses always come with terms and conditions, and sometimes, these are not in your advantage.
Check out the wagering requirements
A great bonus is of no use if it has a wagering requirement of 60x. There is no way you can beat those high betting options requirements. Look for bonuses that have reasonable wagers, and you have a fair chance of beating them. Check the house edge of each.
Go through the security measures
The majority of the casinos will have 128-bit SSL encryption and firewalls. It will make sure that users’ financial and personal details are encoded before being transmitted. The casino website will mention the security measures they are taking to protect sensitive data.
In conclusion
There are many things to keep in mind when looking for an online casino to play at. The most obvious ones are regulation and reputation, of course. But beyond these, there are things like game variety, flexibility, support, and security that you also have to keep in mind.
Today, when there are literally hundreds upon hundreds of online casinos available, finding the right one for you may not be an easy task – especially because of the large variety of options. But you can be sure that there are at least a few that hit the sweet spot for you.
