With the increased availability of broadband Internet during the last decade, online casinos have become more and more popular. To get an idea on the expansion of the phenomenon, search on Google for “online casino”: you will get around 30 million results. Most likely, if you have never played before, you will have quite a hard time figuring out how to choose an online casino. They all look alike, they all boast having huge communities, lots of free money thrown in, free training classes and other marketing hype meant to lure you in. So how should you start looking for the best online casinos?
First and foremost, have a general look at the site. Look for reviews. Read blog articles on relevant niche sites. Read their terms and conditions, privacy policy and transaction terms. The casino should be easy to contact and have some identification information easily accessible, via a Help or About Us page. Personally, I don’t always go for the large brands (William Hill, Ladbrokes or Littlewoods), since I believe new casinos should be offered a chance, but that’s just my view. There is no ground rule on what a good casino should look like, but if the site looks like it was designed by “a man in a white van” it’s probably a scam.The best online casinos offer some consistent sign up bonus. A whole lot of casinos throw in up to $1,000 real, hard, cold money in your site account just for signing up and making a deposit with them. It’s your money, you deserve them, so you shouldn’t be throwing them away by not knowing you are entitled to such bonuses.
Also, the best online casinos come with various deposit methods, which should include at least NETeller, Moneybookers and Alertpay. If you are based in the US, pay attention to state and federal regulations about transferring money via wire or paying with your credit card: you are likely not to be allowed to. Also, your bank could refuse such transfers. Still, no one forbids you from using e-currencies as alternative deposit methods. Before paying, make sure you put down some contact information. All big casinos should be reachable via a wide range of methods, from e-mail to toll free telephone.
Best online casinos offer a good bandwidth that can keep up with the hundreds of tables being active at any moment in time. If your connection keeps breaking up simply look for another casino, or you could end up losing money by disconnected in the middle of a game and forfeiting the chips you were currently wagering.If you are into Texas Hold’em, look for casinos offering regular freerolls. These tournaments are a fun way of learning to play poker and testing your skills against thousands of competitors. The payout isn’t usually worth the effort ($10-$20 or even less for the winner, you could make that much playing only a few hands), but consider it a professional experience.
Last, but not least, casinos should display information related to their third party auditors. If you can’t find such information, it’s always a good practice to contact them and ask directly. Having a reliable auditor, for example, one of the Big Four’s (KPMG, Deloitte, Ernest & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers) is always a good sign that the odds are fair and their software doesn’t scam you. Stick with these simple rules and you will have no problem in choosing one of the best online casinos out there. Then you can gamble safely, knowing that the odds are just as they should be and you will have no trouble with cashing out your earnings.
