Online casinos are one of the leading sectors of the iGaming market and of the gambling industry in general. They have seen relatively steady growth in terms of both the number of players and revenue over the course of the last decade and show little sign of slowing down.
The success of online casinos is easy to explain. They provide all the same gaming entertainment as traditional land-based casinos without any of the hassle. Since they’re digital, they don’t require players to go to a casino, making them more convenient and more accessible.
Just like with Betfair trading, finding a reputable site is essential to making sure that you have the best experience possible. If you’re worrying about how reliable the platform you’re using is, you can’t dedicate your full attention to the bets you’re placing or the trades you’re making.
In this article, we’ll discuss the five ways to know if an online casino is a trusted site. Once you can identify which online casinos are reliable and trustworthy, you can wager and play with confidence that the only risks you’re taking are the ones you’ve agreed to take.
Licenses and security
In order to operate legally in the majority of countries, an online casino needs to hold a license from a recognised regulator. Some countries, like the United Kingdom, have a single major regulator who oversees all online casinos. Others, like Canada and the United States, have a separate regulator for each province or state. Other countries don’t have their own regulators but instead recognise the validity of licenses from established global regulators.
An online casino that is a trusted site will be fully licensed with the appropriate regulators. In addition to local regulators, there are several internationally recognised regulators. These include the UK Gambling Commission, Malta Gaming Authority, Gibraltar Regulatory Authority and the Curaçao Gaming Control Board.
You can verify if an online casino has the required licensing by looking for information about their license in their terms and conditions. For extra proof, you can usually find a list of licensed casinos on each regulator’s website.
Alongside licensing, a reliable online casino will also have adequate security measures in place to protect both your deposits and your personal data. At the very least, an online casino needs to have SSL encryption in place. Encryption makes it nearly impossible for a site to be hacked. You can tell if a site is encrypted if it has a lock icon in the address bar.
An untrustworthy online casino won’t bother with licensing and security software because they are expensive.
Games and developers
The size of an online casino’s library doesn’t mean much, but the games and developers that are found in that library do matter. Most online casinos have libraries with between 1,000-5,000 games. This means that most online casinos have many of the same games.
There are many studios that work exclusively to produce online casino games. Most of these studios have excellent reputations and some have become specialists in particular types of games, like jackpot slots or live dealer games. A few of these studios have evolved from creating video slot machines for land-based casinos.
Online casino guides and review sites provide detailed information on reputable game developers. A trusted online casino will have titles that are almost entirely from the leading studios. These include Play’n Go, Yggdrasil, Red Tiger Games, NetEnt, Microgaming, Pragmatic Play, Evolution Gaming Group, Playtech and Thunderkick. There are many other trusted studios alongside these.
The main reason to only play games from trusted studios is that these games have been fully audited by an outside company. These auditors ensure that games are fully random, fair and have a stable return to player (RTP) rate.
Payment methods
The payment methods accepted by an online casino are a good indicator of whether it’s reputable as well. Trusted online casinos will only accept deposits and withdrawals from payment methods that are equally reputable. These payment methods will have customer protections in place, solid reputations and relationships with established financial institutions.
Trusted online casinos will accept payment methods such as credit and debit cards, e-wallets and major payment apps like PayPal, Skrill and Neteller. The payment apps and financial service providers may vary depending on the country you’re playing from.
Read reviews
Reading reviews is a good way to see how other players and online casino experts feel about a casino. Using a review guide like Casino Sherlock provides insight into how experts in the iGaming industry feel about a casino. It’s also a good way to compare how online casinos stack up against one another.
Reviews from players give you a chance to see if there are any recurring issues with a site. On a site like Trustpilot or Google Reviews, there is also the possibility that the casino will respond. Seeing how a casino addresses complaints can tell you a lot about the company.
Read the terms and conditions
Reading the casino’s terms and conditions can tell you anything else you need to know about them. The terms and conditions will have all the important information regarding bonuses, how to claim them, wagering requirements and any restrictions on them.
The terms and conditions also have everything you need to know about licensing, operators, any parent companies and any specific rules the site might have about claiming winnings. Sometimes, scam sites use elaborate rules to make it impossible to withdraw winnings so it’s always smart to read through the fine print.
Final thoughts
Finding an online casino shouldn’t be a scary prospect, but with so many options it can seem overwhelming, just like when you’re trying to find the right platform for BetFair trading. With this simple guide, however, the process becomes much simpler. Knowledge is power and knowing how to identify a safe and trusted online casino gives you the power to make smart iGaming decisions.