What to Look for in an Online Casino

You’ve heard how much fun it is to play casino games on your computer, but with so many online casinos to choose from, it’s hard to know where to play. This article gives you a few points of comparison to help you decide which casino is right for you.

The online casino business is very competitive so most of the best ones provide similar games selection and quality and similar bonuses and VIP benefits. Customer Service is one area that really separates the good from the bad. You may also fancy certain features such as free games or instant-play games that aren’t available at all online casinos.

Customer Service

The casino should make it easy to find Customer Service contact information. There should be a free phone to call 24/7 as well as an email address. Many of the best casinos also offer Live Chat for contacting their support team.  This can be the best way to get quick answers and assistance but if the live chat operator is trying to help to many people at one time, or if they aren’t up to date on current promotions and new games, it can be a big waste of time.

Before making a deposit at a new casino, I like to contact their Customer Service with a simple question just to see how well they respond. If I get a quick, thorough and helpful response then I feel more confident about playing in their casino. No reply or even a slow reply and answers that aren’t helpful are big red flags. If I can’t get a straight answer to a simple question, I’m not going to spend money there. End of.

Games Selection

Ultimately it’s all about the games though, isn’t it? And they are far from equal. The quantity and quality of an online casino’s games depends on the casino software that they license. Most don’t develop their own games, they license them from one of several leading software providers. If a casino seems to have the same selection of games as another casino you’ve been to it means they’re both licensing their games from the same software company. The leading online casino software companies are: Cryptologic, Playtech, WagerWorks, Microgaming, Chartwell and Net Entertainment. These are all extremely reputable companies that only license their games to reputable operators.  They are all licensed in EU licensing jurisdictions that strictly monitor and regulate their business.  Until the legal situation in America changes, none of these companies allow U.S. players to play their games. Generally speaking, if an online casino licenses their games from one of these providers, they can be trusted and you can expect a superior gaming experience. Others, licensed in offshore jurisdictions that don’t provide sufficient regulation and monitoring, should be avoided.

All online casinos offer the classics: Blackjack, Roulette, Baccarat, Craps and of course Slots. Lots of slots! Most will offer basic versions of the classic games as well as several variations.  For example, most offer Roulette, with both a 0 and a 00 on the wheel, as well as European Roulette with only one zero. 

Free vs Real Money

At most online casinos, you can try the games for free before you are required to make a deposit and play with your own real money. They usually require you to register an account before you can access the free games though. This always means giving them your contact information. Even though they don’t put any charges through at this point, they often require you to give them a valid credit card number when you register. Don’t hold this against them -- this is the main way casinos verify age. If they don’t require this then you have to wonder how they’re preventing underage people from playing. Having said that, always check your credit card statements to make sure that there are no charges that shouldn’t be there!

Like you, I don’t like giving my contact information and credit card number. However, I don’t want to play for real money until I’ve tried the games for free first either.  We’ve personally checked all of the casinos we recommend here at GuideToCasino.co.uk, and they’re all associated with the very best and most reputable casino software providers, so you should not be concerned about registering an account and trying the free games at any of them.

Bonuses

Every casino offers a “welcome bonus”. When you make your first deposit, they will give you an additional 10%, 20%, 50% even 100% extra for free. If you deposit 100 and they give a 50% bonus you will get 150 in your account.  There are always restrictions on free bonus money that you should be very aware of though. You can’t just cash out your bonus money as soon as you’ve received it. You have to wager that money several times over before you can withdraw it from your casino account to your credit card. You have to lose your money, win some back, lose it again, win some back again many times over before you can cash out. (This does not apply to the 100 that you actually deposited, only to the 50 you received as a bonus.) They don’t advertise the roll over amount as prominently as the bonus amount – you may have to check the Terms and Conditions for their welcome bonus to find out if you have to wager your bonus 5x, 10x 20x or more. If the requirement is too high, it’s not really a bonus, is it? When you’re comparing welcome deposit bonus offers, check both the amount of the bonus AND the rollover requirement.

VIP / High Roller Programs

Most online casinos offer extra benefits to players that play there a lot and make large deposits. If you are a frequent player and enjoy high stakes games, you should expect extra services. VIP players are usually offered higher deposit bonuses that other players. If the casino has a Comp Points system (as all of the better ones do) they usually award points to VIPs at a higher rate. Some casinos assign every VIP player to a VIP Hostess that takes care of them very personally. Casinos monitor their players so if they notice you’ve been depositing and playing a lot they’ll likely contact you to offer you VIP status. Otherwise, get in touch with Customer Service and ask for it.

Deposit Options

To play for real money, you must first deposit money to your account so that you’ll have chips at the table. Most casinos take deposits by credit card and through a variety of e-wallets such as Neteller. If you like to use a particular credit card or e-wallet, you should check the casinos banking information to make sure that they accept the one you prefer. At most casinos you’ll find these popular e-wallets (and more): Neteller, Moneybookers, Click2Pay, EntroPay, PayPal, uKash

Minimum Deposits and Table Limits

Casinos typically have about the same minimum and maximum bets. Some offer lower minimum bets or higher maximum bets than others though so you should check the casino’s table limits to make sure you are comfortable with them.  Better casinos have Blackjack tables with limits starting at £1 or £2 and, for those that like to play for higher stakes, up to £5000. The minimum Roulette bet can be as little as £0.10 but if you look around you’ll find some where you can wager as much as £2500. Some players like to play Baccarat, in particular, for high stakes and some casinos have Baccarat tables with very high limits.

We remind you to always know your limit and to never wager more than you can afford to lose. If you need help to control your gambling we urge you to contact GambleAware.co.uk.

Instant vs Download

At some casinos, you can go straight to the table to play. At others, you must download a large file and install some software on your computer. There are advantages to each type. If you play at the same casino on the same computer, downloaded games are usually the best choice. If you play at a variety of casinos or if you don’t always use the same computer, instant games may be best for you.

Download

Traditionally, online casino games software has been downloaded from the internet and installed on your computer. The software files can be big, so it can take awhile for them to download, or transfer to your computer. Installation is usually as easy as double-clicking on the file that you receive, and it usually only takes a couple of minutes. Some people find the whole process confusing or annoying and can’t be bothered. If that sounds like you, see “Instant-Play”, next. However, at the end of the day, games that you download and install on your own computer usually have the best graphics and sound effects, and most casinos only offer their full selection of games if you download and install them. If I just want to take a quick peak at a casino, I look for instant games. But if I’m going to play there regularly I think it’s worth the slight effort and few minutes it takes to download and install the software.

Instant-Play

Many casinos offer instant games that use a technology called Flash. Basically, you go to a web page to play these games. Once you’ve registered your account and logged on, you just click on a game and it opens up in your web browser. Sometimes the games are slightly simpler in their Flash version and, as I said, sometimes not all games are offered as an instant play game, but there are a couple of good reasons that many people prefer to play instant games. The main reason is the convenience of not having to download and install anything before you can start having fun. Even though I usually eventually download and install a casino, I often start by sampling their instant games.

Instant, web—based games are also best if you don’t always play at the same computer. Since you go to a web site to play instant games, you can logon to the casino and play games instantly at any computer that has an internet connection.