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There are thousands of online casinos. And not all of them are safe and secure places; let’s be real. Luckily, you have me — and my super-easy guide on how to test a new online gambling spot.
Why should you trust me? My experience involves dozens of online casinos — including both top-notch and not-very-reliable ones. Besides, I regularly check some trusted sources, like SlotSpeak, which publishes slot reviews and top casino recommendations.
So I know the ropes, and let’s dive in.
Step 1. Is There A License?
Did you know that launching a turnkey online casino requires just about a month and approximately $7,000? Yes, this means plenty of new-born gambling sites come to the market out of nowhere and give you no guarantees. In other words, nobody will protect you if the owner of such a casino decides to vanish in a couple of weeks — with all your winnings and deposits.
But who can protect you? A Gambling Commission checks the casino and its owners, permits it to work, and controls its activities. There are various online gaming authorities: some of them give a casino the right to work in a particular country, and others license offshore gambling websites that target people worldwide.
But how do you know a casino has a valid license? Suppose we want to check out some casino, say, Spilnu-DK, a Danish gambling website. Let’s visit its page and go straight to its footer:
See? It straightforwardly says that the Gambling Commission of Denmark controls this casino — and if you click this widget, you will be redirected to the commission’s official page.
You can do the same thing with any other online casino.
Step 2. What About Payment Methods?
This is not just about your convenience. The thing is that trusted payment systems — like, say, Visa, Mastercard, or PayPal — don’t contract with unlicensed casinos without a clean and clear reputation. I won’t dive deep into details, just trust — involvement in any scam is about a great load of issues for a payment provider. Yes, even if they were just a third-party contractor.
So, when seeing an online casino offering, say, one strange money transfer payment method, think twice before signing up. And, of course, make sure a casino offers you deposit and withdrawal options you like, after all.
Step 3. Are Your Money and Data In Safe Hands?
Here I am speaking about some technical things. Modern security methods imply that your credit card or e-wallet data, as well as your personal details, won’t appear in some third-party hands. How to check it?
The simplest method is to check the website’s address. Does it begin with HTTPS (not HTTP)? If so, it’s a good sign: the website uses a special security certificate that helps encrypt payment information.
And, one more tip: it’s better to use online casinos with 2-factor authentication.
Step 4. What Do Other Players Say?
Reviews can be biased, of course. However, it’s not hard to tell real users stories from fake ones. Here are some tips:
- Very detailed and overemotional positive reviews are often fake.
- Bad reviews that lack details, on the contrary, might turn out to be the competitors’ work.
- People are more likely to send reviews when they are upset rather than when they are happy with the service.
Besides, I recommend using websites like TrustPilot or AskGamblers. Sometimes, online casinos reply to any feedback, explain the situation in public, or ask customers to contact them — and this work with reviews is also a good sign of a reputable casino.
Step 5. Is the Customer Support Okay?
It’s inconvenient to contact customer service via an email form that says, ‘We reply within 24 hours’. Live Chat or phone is much better — unless you can reach the support agents with them, of course.
So, the best way to check is just to send a message or two via the Live Chat or make a quick call. You’ll feel much more confident in the gambling platform when you know you can contact it anytime and get an urgent reply.
Step 6. Do You Like the Games?
Finally, there’s no point in having a casino that doesn’t actually fit your gaming needs, right? So, before joining one, check out the number of slots and providers. By the way, the more providers a casino has, the bigger the chance you will get your payouts timely. Why? Because renting slots and casino games from providers costs money, and a rich casino library implies that these guys can afford pretty much!
And, after all, trusted big gaming providers don’t usually work with scam websites.
To Sum Up
Of course, there might be more points. For example, you can check if the web casino works the same good on your smartphone. Some would hate the interface of an overall good gambling website. Finally, you might want to catch a lucrative welcome bonus. Still, most of these points are a matter of taste — and you are free to choose as you wish here!
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