Trustworthy Online Casinos
Online casinos are the pinnacle of gambling, and there are hundreds if not thousands in existence today. All casinos share some common traits yet differ greatly in overall quality, markets they target, and in bonuses and types of games they offer to their players. There are new online casinos emerging almost on a monthly basis, so a player has to know how to distinguish between good and not so good online casinos.
Types of games offered
A staple of any online casino are slot games, as they are by far the most popular game, and different casinos will have games by different game providers. Some will rely only on one developer such as Realtime Gaming, while others make it their business to offer games by several different providers, thereby greatly increasing the number of available slots. Other notable slot game developers that have been around for a while are Microgaming, Betsoft, NetEnt, Play’n GO and Playtech, with many new ones emerging such as Quickspin, Thunderkick, Endorphina and many other small ones which still make excellent slots. Some developers focus on classic slots that either resemble classic slot machines or are an exact online replica of them, such as Novomatic/Greentube, Aristocrat or Bally.
All casinos, except those that focus purely on slots, offer table games as well, and roulette and blackjack are the most popular games, followed by baccarat, craps and several others. Having a live casino with live dealers isn’t as common, but those casinos that have it can be said to offer a really full range of online gambling games to their customers. One of the best providers of live dealer services is Evolution Gaming, along with several others, and players can enjoy the basic live dealer casino as well as live streams from famous land-based casinos, making it a fully immersive experience that differs little from actually visiting that casino.
Welcome bonuses and other offers
Almost all online casinos offer deposit bonuses to attract new customers. This is usually a 100% bonus on the first deposit, and the amounts can vary all the way up to $10,000 or so. Some casinos also offer bonuses on subsequent deposits, or have bonuses that can be used every week or on a given day of the week. Most casinos also offer free spins, either for any slot or for a specific slot game, as the reason why most players join online casinos is to play slots. Regular players may also take advantage of various loyalty schemes. All this makes online casinos far superior to the land-based casinos where there are few, if any, perks for players. Online casino welcome bonuses always come with a play through requirement, which is usually around 35x, which means the player must play through the bonus he got 35 times before being allowed to make a withdrawal. Most bonuses may only be used on slots, while some casinos allow the player to play through the bonus on table games as well, though with a much smaller contribution to the play through requirement. Most players use bonuses to boost their game and increase their chances of winning, and often move from one casino to the next, claiming a new bonus for themselves.
Casino Licenses
Online casinos usually have a gaming license, though there are those that operate without it, and the license will determine where can the casino offer its services. Those casinos that target an unregulated market won’t be able to apply for a strong license, and those with a strong license can only target regulated markets. License, however, doesn’t mean much as it never tells the full story about how does the casino run its business and whether the casino is reliable and reputable or not.
Licenses considered strong, or strict, are ones issued by United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) and Malta Gaming Authority. Curacao is the best of the rest, and it allows a casino to offer its services to many countries, and other similarly lenient licenses are Montenegro and Kahnawake. Gibraltar and Alderney are also popular choices, and these two usually host big names in gambling, particularly ones from UK. Bitcoin casinos either go for a Curacao licence or don’t bother with licencing at all. Neither should the player, as licenses don’t guarantee that a casino is good, and there are good ones that don’t hold any license whatsoever.
Deposit methods
Casinos can offer traditional deposit methods and use fiat currencies, and these would include credit card deposits, wire transfers, checks, Western Union and the like, and online wallets such as Neteller, Skrill and EcoPayz. But more and more casinos accept bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies these days, and they make deposits fast, cheap and anonymous. This is a particular advantage in markets which have difficulties processing traditional payments, such as the US, as it goes around any restrictions that may be in place.
How to choose a good casino
A good online casino is one that treats its customers well. That means the customer support must always be available on short notice and must be willing to resolve a problem, and must resolve the problem in the best interest of the player. Payments must be relatively fast, although the biggest concern here is that the casino must not withhold payments or cause any problems regarding this matter. Casino that pays winnings is a good casino.
Only after these two things are taken care of we may start considering the other traits of a casino, such as the games they offer, the welcome bonuses, and the overall experience of playing in that casino. Of course, the player can only choose from casinos that offer services in the respective region and are willing to accept the customer from that country, so the choice is often narrowed by this.
How to play in an online casino
Every game, including slots and table games, has a different house edge. Experienced players know which game they should play in order to maximize their chances of winning, and this type of player will try to get an edge over the casino in some way. Other players don’t care about the theoretical probabilities of winning but instead go for the biggest jackpots, using their money and the bonus to get as many shots at winning the jackpot as possible.
In either case, online gambling is a lot of fun, and an online casino is the place to go for any gambler that wishes to complement his land-based casino experience, or even to play online exclusively.