GUIDE TO FINDING A GOOD ONLINE CASINO

If you want to place bets at the latest operators and withdraw your winnings, then at some point you’re going to have to share some of your financial and personal information. While high street banks and well established online shopping sites have multiple layers of security that prevent their customers from becoming a victim of identity fraud, you are unlikely to have the same level of confidence about an online casino that has only just opened its virtual doors.

Caution is always advised whenever deals seem too good to be true. With some unscrupulous casino operators, the whole site may be a scam to harvest personal data. How can you tell whether a brand is trustworthy or not? What qualities should you look out for before deciding whether to join or not? The following pointers will help you navigate your way through this strange world.

LICENSING & REGISTRATION

Security is always a concern whenever anyone is going online, but it is especially so when it comes to your personal finances. A quick and easy way to check whether a casino site is legitimate is to find out where it is registered and licensed. Common locations include Alderney, the Isle of Man, the United Kingdom and Gibraltar. These jurisdictions have high standards of gaming regulation, audit all licensees and provide solid protection for players. You can guarantee that games on these pages have been independently assessed as being fair.

At the other end of the scale are jurisdictions that do little more than rubber-stamp applications for casino licences and therefore offer no protection or guarantees at all. In these places, no checks are carried out into the background of the people running the business. Common locations for such casinos online include Belize, Costa Rica and Panama. Although there are some legitimate, well-run online casinos operating out of these locations, you should only deposit money if you have conducted sufficient research to reassure yourself.

Of course, there’s nothing to stop the most dubious scammers from claiming to have been awarded a casino licence when they have done nothing of the sort. If you have any doubt, and particularly if you see an offer that appears too good to be true, check with the authorities themselves to see if the licensing paperwork actually exists.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SIGN-UP BONUSES

Many online casinos offer attractive bonuses for new customers. It’s very common to be offered a sign-up bonus or a deposit offer which is activated once you’ve deposited and played through a set amount of your own money. Such bonuses can be up to several hundred per cent of your initial deposit, making them great for anyone who wants to try out some casino sites without spending too much cash.

Casino sites generally have a minimum deposit amount, so you will need to at least match this in order to start playing. On some sites, the greater the sum of your initial min deposit, the greater the sign-up deposit bonus you are entitled to.

SOFTWARE

If you’ve especially enjoyed the graphics, sound or gameplay on a particular casino site in the past and you’re looking for more of the same, finding out who is responsible for the software on your prospect site can help you make a decision about whether to go ahead.

Several major companies such as Netent, Microgaming, Cryptologic, Playtech, IGT, Play n Go, WagerWorks and Nextgen Gaming are among the most popular providers of casino software. Games produced by these companies have been tried and tested by millions of players all over the world, so you know you’re in good hands.

If the recently launched casino is using the exact same software provider as your favorite casino, the chances are that you’ll enjoy playing there, will likely know some of the games and will be in familiar surroundings. If, on the other hand, they make use of software that you haven’t previously experienced, it’s a great opportunity to try out some new games that may look and feel very different to the ones you are used to.

REPUTATION OF CASINO SITES

One of the first things you’ll want to establish before you part with any of your hard-earned cash is what sort of reputation this latest casino site has. One of the great things about online entertainment is that the community is supported by thousands of forums, blog and social media feeds where participants can relate their gambling experiences.

Type the name of the casino brand into your favorite search engine or forum and see if anyone is talking about it. Bear in mind that, even in the digital age, reputations – good or bad – take a little time to build up, so use your own best judgement about what you see and read before deciding whether to go ahead.

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

Alongside reputation, another way of deciding whether a particular fresh brand is right for you is the quality of customer support it offers. If your winnings have gone missing or your game bonus isn’t showing up in your account, will someone from that brand be available to help you sort things out?

The casinos can be contacted by telephone, email or social media and also have live online support that operates 24/7. A small start-up might struggle to match that level of service, but there should certainly be someone monitoring communications and social media feeds so that you never have to wait too long for a response. Casino sites with a live chat service is always going to be preferable to one that lists a premium rate telephone number for anyone needing assistance.

The most recent casinos cannot exist without customers. The best providers keep this at the forefront of their minds and do everything they can to ensure their customers are as happy as possible. If you email casinos with a query about membership, how quickly do they respond? Does the reply come from a real-life human being or is it an automated response? The better an online casino treats its customers – and its potential customers – the more peace of mind you’ll have that, should anything ever go wrong, it will be resolved as quickly as possible.

CASINO SITES PAYMENT OPTIONS

Putting money into an online casino account is almost always a straightforward process. Casinos have gone out of their way to do everything possible to simplify the process of making deposits. It’s when it comes to taking money out – especially winnings – that things tend to get a little more complicated.

A good brand will make cashing out simple, painless and quick. A poor one will make you jump through multiple hoops. Check the terms and conditions before you start to play to ensure you don’t come in for a nasty surprise later on. Some casinos have a weekly or monthly withdrawal limit, so even if you win big, you might not be able to access all of your money right away.

No one enters a virtual casino with the intention of losing money, but unless you choose the right payment methods, you could end up paying high fees simply to deposit or withdraw your cash. A debit card is usually the cheapest and safest method of putting money into your account. Although web wallet services such as PayPal, Neteller and Skrill allow you to make payments without having to provide any of your personal financial information, you’ll pay for the privilege through charges. Credit cards can also be used, but you’ll pay a fee to do so, plus you have to add in the cost of borrowing the money itself.

The quality of the software being used on casino sites also has an effect on its level of security. Major developers such as Microgaming, NetEnt and Playtech embed security features such as firewalls and 128-bit SSL encryption in order to keep connections secure. Should such a casino become the subject of a cyber-attack, your personal data should be pretty safe.

THE GAMES OFFERED

The final ingredient that may entice you to try out a fresh casino is perhaps the most vital of all – the games themselves. From baccarat, card games, slots, table games and video poker to craps and jackpot slots, you’ll find a wealth of games just waiting to be played.

Unlike a bricks-and-mortar casino, you’ll never have to queue up to use your favorite machine or wait for a space to open up at the high-stakes blackjack table. Whatever you want to do, whatever you want to play, the casino is ready and waiting for you at any time of day. There are other advantages too – you don’t have to get dressed up, and no matter how awful the weather gets outside, it’s always perfect inside your computer or smartphone.

ONLY PLAY IN LEGITIMATE ONLINE CASINOS

If you stick to the big names, you should be fairly confident that you’re using reputable sites. With new online casinos however chances are you’ll come across names you’re not already familiar with. In this case check the details carefully to ensure everything is legitimate. Alternatively you can just take our listing of these trusted new casinos from below.

All sites should display details of their registration and licence agreements prominently on their pages. Casino sites can either be UK based or based Offshore, but will still need to be licensed by the UK Gambling Commission in order for UK players to join and play. If you are unsure about the trustworthiness of a brand, you can contact the UK Gambling Commission directly for more information. There are plenty of reputable and trustworthy new casinos in the UK, so avoid any providers you are not sure about. Gambling licences should be valid and up to date, and the legal details of any new online casino in the UK should be easy to find on the company website’s homepage.

SET YOUR LIMITS

Online casinos generally have a feature which allows you to decide the maximum you want to spend on gambling over any given period. This period may be set to 24 hours, several days or even one week or month. You can enter the maximum you are happy to deposit into your account during the given time period, and the casino will stop you from exceeding this limit. This is a very useful feature for anyone who enjoys online gambling but is concerned about losing track of how much money they deposit. Some licensed casino sites suggest maximum sums themselves, but you can change this to a figure you are comfortable with.