All over the world, the online casino industry is booming. Both new and established online gamblers now have hundreds of online casinos to choose from when finding their perfect site, and at times, all that choice can feel a little overwhelming.
When reviewing the merits of an online casino, there are many different factors to consider. Over the years, I have reviewed hundreds of different online casinos, some good and some bad. The best online casinos ensure that they have games that keep you coming back for more. However, these games must also be played within a safe and secure environment.
If you’re looking for your next online casino site, here are some of the essentials to look out for.
Safety and Licensing
The first thing I look for when reviewing the reliability of an online casino is whether it is officially licensed. Often, this information is located right at the bottom of a website, and it looks like small legal print.
Licensing is essential as it means that the online casino has officially been legislated by a territory’s official gambling board. In the UK, this is often the UK Gambling Commission, in America this will be the State’s official gambling act, and there are also popular licensing hubs in both Malta and Curacao.
The reason licensing is important is because fully licensed casino operators have a duty of responsibility to keep your money and identity safe from fraudsters and hackers.
Not only should all the casino games you come across be safe and tested to ensure that the games aren’t biased or rigged in any way, but fully licensed operators should also use the very latest encryption technologies—meaning it’s virtually impossible for either your personal or financial details to be hacked.
Ensuring your own safety is paramount; recently, there has been a huge rise in online sites that have few or no safety credentials. Using these blacklisted sites can leave you open to harm, and they should be avoided at all costs.
Strong Customer Support and Responsible Gambling Tools
Once I know that an online casino site is licensed, the next thing I look for when determining whether it is reliable or not is what sort of customer support they offer.
The majority of you reading this article may never need to contact customer support, but it is always comforting to know that it is there.
The best customer support methods usually lie with customer support chat services. The best online casinos will have support services that run 24/7. Being able to speak to a live agent that can answer a range of questions is exceptionally helpful. Usually, the best sites can answer and resolve your queries in minutes.
Phone lines and email addresses are also helpful, but using these methods can sometimes take a little time. The bare minimum I would expect to find is some form of FAQ guide—although these might not cover every single area, they can be useful in helping you get the answers you need.
Safer Gambling Tools
With the rise of online gambling, online casinos have a duty to ensure that they keep their customers safe and, should the customer ever feel the need, there should be the option to apply tools to an account.
Safer gambling tools—such as deposit limits, the ability to gauge profit and losses, and the option to take a time out or even close an account—are all actions that can be applied. Even the best online casinos may not contain every feature, but a reliable online site should have at least one.
Choice of Games
Now that we’ve covered the various safety and security elements, let’s take a look at another critical area—what types of games can be played.
A reputable online casino should want to leave you coming back time and time again, and should offer you thousands of games to choose from.
Slot Games
Usually forming the heart of a game offering are slot games. Often, there are thousands of different games to choose from, but the strengths of these games can differ dramatically.
What I often look for is the different providers the online casino provides. I look out for established names such as Pragmatic Play, Play’n GO, Evolution Gaming, Microgaming, or NetEnt.
All these providers have been at the top of the industry for decades, and between them, have won numerous awards. Providing some of the best-loved games that can be played, if these providers have a presence on a site, I know that the slot offering is likely to be strong.
Live Casino Games
In recent years, live casinos have helped revolutionize the industry. Offering a social experience and the opportunity to play against real-life dealers, the very best online casinos usually have an abundance of blackjack and roulette games to play.
Forming the foundation of any live casino, there should be plenty of opportunities to play at a table that meets your staking needs. If both the blackjack and roulette opportunities are limited, I would be dubious about the strength of the overall casino.
Other factors that make a live casino great are baccarat, craps, and gameshow-style games. Gameshow-style games are quickly proving to be the most popular in the business and I always like it when a casino has plenty of these options to play. Games such as Monopoly Live, Crazy Time, and Funky Time are just three of the best games that can be played, and if these types of games are available, I know that the casino is likely to be strong.
Welcome Bonus
With so many options to choose from, it isn’t surprising that virtually every online casino offers a welcome bonus that you can take advantage of when you sign up and register. Welcome bonuses can take many different forms. Free spins, cashback, or even bonuses that award you across multiple deposits.
While the values of the bonuses can vary dramatically, what can often make a welcome bonus worth your time is the wagering requirement needed to withdraw any winnings that you accrue from your bonus.
Some online casinos have wagering requirements that can be over 100x the original bonus amount. If your bonus was $10, you would need to wager at least $1,000 before you could make any bonus withdrawals. The best welcome offers come from casinos offering a bonus containing sensible wagering requirements. I feel that any wagering requirements under 35x are usually a sensible starting point. For amounts that are higher, I would question whether that particular welcome bonus is worth investing in.
Deposit and Withdrawal Options
Another fundamental area when looking at whether an online casino is worth investing in are the different deposit and withdrawal methods.
A good, solid, reliable casino should offer its customers a variety of different options. Payments often include traditional Visa and Mastercard card transactions, but increasingly, the best online casinos are also starting to provide new ways to pay, such as Trustly, Much Better, and AstroPay.
These new methods allow for instant transactions to be made and withdrawals to be credited back to an account in just minutes. You may come across some casinos that offer crypto payments; while crypto casinos are certainly on the rise, these casinos are still relatively new and you should check the safety and licensing agreements before depositing your money. Any casino that has a nice mixture of both old and new payment types could be worth real consideration.
Sportsbooks or Other Gambling Areas
While you may gamble online purely to get involved in the brilliant casino action that is on offer, there are several online casinos that run sportsbooks or bingo games.
Often, deposited funds can be moved between these different areas easily and simply, and you can access these areas by clicking a button. I find that online casinos that offer you as much choice as possible should always be considered over those that only offer a limited or restricted choice of games.
Taking Your Time
Hopefully, the above is a handy guide to the different areas you should consider when trying to find your perfect online gambling partner. There is a huge range of things to consider, but as I outlined at the top of the article, the most important aspect is keeping yourself safe from harm, which is why it is important to give yourself time to ensure that the casino you end up choosing ticks all the right boxes.
Davor Štefanović has over 10 years of experience in SEO and digital marketing and he holds the Poynter ACES Introductory Certificate in Editing & Fact-checking Fundamentals and he also has a Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature from the University of Novi Sad. He ensures all content is of the highest standard, factually accurate, and engaging.