Casinos are the ultimate in luxury and excitement, and if you want to bring the fun to you rather than having to travel to Vegas, then you might be thinking about getting started with an online casino.
There are hundreds of online casino sites, all wanting to sign you up as a customer – so how do you choose? It will be personal preference, of course, but there are some criteria you should be thinking about before you decide.
Regulated and Licensed
When you sign up with an online casino, you will be sharing your personal and financial details with them – and you will want to be sure that it will be dealt with safely and securely.
One of the ways that you can be sure that you will be safe when using the site is to check whether it is licensed and regulated.
Regulation comes from some form of oversight, there are different organizations that provide regulation for online casinos. Essentially, to become licensed and regulated, an online casino must make certain guarantees about player safety, data security, and fairness of games.
Unlicensed casinos might be able to offer big promotions and discounts, and some will go as far as to be decentralized and built from blockchain – be careful here, as you will not be protected should something go wrong.
You can check the status of an online casino by looking for their licensing details – you can usually find them in the footer of their website.
Range of Games
While you might be a blackjack aficionado, or enjoy playing slots, it might be worth looking for an online casino that offers many different types of game as well as different versions of your favorite game.
The more games on offer, the more choice you will have when you want to play.
Look out for special games too, many casinos offer live games, streamed from the casino via video to make you feel like you are really there, and big money tournaments that could end up pretty lucrative.
Payment Options
The most used payment method when it comes to online casinos is the credit or debit card. It is fast and simple, and in many cases you can save the car details in your account to make it easier to make a deposit.
However, for those that are a bit more security minded, eWallets can form a layer of protection between your bank and the casino. PayPal, for example, can make payments directly from your PayPal account or your bank account, without sharing your banking details.
Some online casinos will also allow cryptocurrency payments – although this might not be suitable for everyone.
Security
Online safety has become more and more important, and while you need to take some responsibility for the information you are sharing online, the sites you use also have a responsibility to keep you safe as well.
You can tell if a site has encryption by looking for the padlock in the address bar, and the best sites will help you to protect your account by ensuring that you use a strong password and by offering two-factor authentication (2FA). There should be extra security used when you are putting in payment information, too.
For mobile apps, password protection might be enhanced using biometric security options like facial recognition or fingerprint scanning.
Customer Reviews
You can find out a lot about a company by looking at their reviews, and it is always best to look for independent information, rather than the reviews quoted by the online casino you are considering. Ignore the ones that complain that they lost money (this is part of the risk of playing casino games) and look for details about support options, withdrawal speed, and general reputation details.
Bonuses and Promotions
This part of the criteria that you can use to decide has been put last on the list for a reason.
Bonuses and promotions are used to tempt new customers to sign up, and they can often promise what seems like riches for those who create an account.
Promotions might include free spins, or maybe deposit matching – which seems like a sweet deal if you are already thinking of signing up. Make sure that you read the small print though, as you may have to deposit winnings rather than withdraw them, or the free spins might have to be used on a specific game or by a specific date.
Promotions and bonuses that are designed to reward existing customers are not as often found, but they are generally a good indication that the company values repeat business, so have a look at those before you make a final decision.
Getting the right online casino is definitely a personal choice, but the right one will provide you with a safe, varied, and fun place to play your favorite games.
