We take a lot of things into account when choosing the right online casino. Although the majority of players are first pulled to a casino by flashy signs, witty slogans, and of course lucrative offers, what makes the difference between a good and a bad online casino is much deeper and more important than the design of the site itself and even the tempting bonus that is promised to you.
What should be a priority and what all players should be guided by when choosing a casino is the safety and reliability of the establishment.
If you were guided exclusively by the aesthetics of the site, the best promotions and bonuses, and the selection of games when choosing a casino to play at, it is a real wonder that you avoided fraud all this time. To save you from having to learn from your own mistakes like many who have burned themselves so far, we will teach you how to recognize a safe and reliable online casino, to which you can entrust your money and personal data without much thought.
1. Check the Casino’s Reputation
One of the best ways to make sure that the casino that you want to play at is safe is to take a look at the past experiences that players have had with that casino. Reviews online can indeed be falsified by the competition or an unhappy player who lost a lot of money due to their lack of skill and better judgment, but that can only be the case with a few bad reviews. If the casino is truly as good as they claim the bad reviews will be lost in the sea of positive experiences from happy clients.
If the reviews are overwhelmingly bad and it seems to be hard to even find a decent comment you should steer clear from it.
By looking at google reviews or doing your research through gambler forums you can also gain important knowledge on the works of the casino and useful tips and tricks to give you a little edge over the house since gamblers love sharing intell that they have gathered over the years.
2. Check the License and Registration
After you’ve gotten familiar with the casino and you are pleased with the reviews it got, the next step should be to check its license and registration. Keep in mind that good reviews can be faked as well and they aren’t necessarily what makes an online casino safe and trusted, so it’s always best to make sure and rely on legal protection rather than a good word.
A reputable online casino must have a valid license issued by the appropriate authority. The site must also be regulated by the laws of the country under whose jurisdiction it falls.
Some of the most common licenses that you will notice in most online casinos include:
- Curacao gambling license.
- Isle of Man Gambling License.
- Online gambling licenses from the Malta Gaming Authority.
- Kahnawake license.
If an online casino holds any of these licenses you can expect high-quality service and great customer experience.
3. Check the Banking Options
Most online casinos nowadays offer a variety of different payment options available to players. All of them accept credit cards but the best and most trusted casinos will give you the option to choose between:
- Debit/credit cards
- Prepayment cards
- Bank transfers
- E-wallets
Depending on your preferred payment method you should look for an online casino that accepts the most payment options in that category since it will be the most compatible with your needs and also have more promotions and bonuses that would suit you.
4. Look for SSL encryption
License and regulations protect you from the casino, but who protects you from hackers and third parties that abuse personal information and data? That is where the SSL encryption comes in, forming a protective layer between the casino’s database and the rest of the internet.
The SSL technology works by encrypting all communication channels between your device and a casino server, making whatever is exchanged unreadable to third parties.
To check for SSL encryption, look for a little padlock, located in the URL toolbar. If there isn’t one immediately when you access the page it doesn’t necessarily mean that the casino doesn’t use encryption at all, but the padlock should appear once you begin registration. If you are unable to find the padlock it could be due to the device you’re using, which is an unlikely case but just to make sure you can check in the ‘Abou Us’ or ‘Security’ option on the menu.
5. Look for quality over quantity
Even though a large selection of games in online casinos is always tempting, the quality of the provided games is much more important. A good online casino should boast a selection of high-quality games provided by top software developers. The names of the software companies that the casino works with are usually visible on the front page of the site, sometimes on the very bottom of the page or in the ‘About Us’ section or the game menu. Some of the names that you should expect to see are giants in the business such as NetEnt, Microgaming, Pragmatic Play, Playtech, Evolution Gaming, and many more.
We would like to conclude by saying that you are now more than ready to seek out the best online casino for you! As long as you make sure that the casino ticks all of these boxes you should never have a problem with fraud and bad service in a casino ever again. Good luck!
