How to pick the right online casino for you

There are thousands of online casinos available between your computer and phone, but finding one that is right for you can be easy. Simply abide by rating them using five critical criteria.

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"A blackjack hand at the casino" by Images_of_Money is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Five essential things to review in an online casino

Before signing up for an online casino, you better be sure it's the right one for you. There are many categories to check off the list but we've narrowed it down to the five essential criteria a casino needs to excel at before you give it your hard-earned cash:

1. What license and certificate/s does the casino have?

All kinds of legitimate businesses have a license or certificate of sorts and this includes online casinos. These licences are used to demonstrate that a casino is operating legally within the country of its origin through its regulating body (e.g. UK Gambling Commission, Curacao eGaming License). You can find these usually at the bottom of the casino's homepage.

If the casino cheats or abuses you, these regulators will be the ones to hear you out. It is important that you have a means of contacting them. Places in Malta, the UK, or New Jersey are some of the most respectable ones and casinos under their watch will be kept honest.

Also, certificates or seals are there to prove that the casino has been vetted by testing agencies either for the fairness and quality of their games or for how secure they are. Look for seals from eCOGRA and Verisign as optimal proofs of a casino's trustworthiness.

2. What are their deposit and payment methods? How much are fees?

Find out what methods of payment the casino is willing to take or give. There are literally hundreds of ways you can move money around to and from casinos but you want to choose the casinos that offer the most convenient methods for you.

Usually, casinos will offer one of the main three deposit options: credit card, cryptocurrency, or another Internet online payment source like Neteller or Skrill. However, the payment method for casinos may be more limited with some only paying by sending you a cheque or direct deposit.

It's also worth considering how much casinos charge for cashing out and how long it takes. Some do it within 24 hours while some can take as long as five business days or an entire week. Find casinos that do not charge as much fees and pay out quickly.

3. What bonuses and promotions do they offer? How do they compare?

Almost every online casino offers some kind of bonus or promotion to entice you to play with them. These start from their deposit bonuses where they can match your first deposit up to a certain amount from $200 to $500.

However, all bonuses have their own set of terms and conditions that you have to strictly abide by. Deposit bonuses are subject to rollovers up to 10 times (10X). This means for you to be able to withdraw your deposit bonus, you must have staked money 10X your bonus.

If your bonus is $200, you must wager at least $2,000. Also, the rollover count only applies to certain games and it usually cannot be combined with another promotion.

These are industry standards within casino bonuses. Shop around different online casinos to see if you can find any that stand out or are more flexible.

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All Licenses Owned.

4. How easy is it to navigate this site on both desktop and mobile?

To get the most of the casino, it will need to have an accessible user interface on whatever platform. This goes just beyond how nice a casino looks but how easy it is to find whatever you are looking for.

User experience is an emerging trend digitally and not just with casinos. Some of the more modern casinos have taken this into consideration and make it extremely easy for players to sign up, deposit or withdraw, and play their favourite games.

The easier a casino is to use, the better.

5. How good is this casino's reputation as discussed by its players?

Last but certainly not least, scour the Internet for every bit of information you can find about the casinos of your choice. You may find plenty of third-party casino review sites, but also parlay this with what recent users have said. Find any talking points that stick from both sides.

If both casino review sites and users talk about a casino being the best blackjack for online casinos, it probably checks out.

You can also quickly filter out the shady casinos who ripped off its players before as these comments will be one of the first you will spot. And alternatively, you can also search if the casinos or the company behind them have been involved with controversial practices.

The less complaints you find about a casino, the better.

David Pac

Update 24 August 2020