Who doesn’t love a good old checklist? In our ultra-convenient world, where we have some of the greatest technology ever created in the palm of our hands, our smartphones do everything for us, whether we’re looking to do a spot of banking, online shopping, or online casino gaming, which is our focus today.
I wouldn’t say that you need to check off an exhaustive list whenever you play at an online casino, or sit there covering every possible angle. However, you shouldn’t just go into casino gaming right off the bat without at least knowing the basics.
Take Time to Seek Out Expert Opinions
Experts come in many forms, but the most common in casino gaming are ones with a clear presence in the business. Review sites often use profiles and highlight the experts that write for them, so you can find them and check out their credentials. Platforms will use a casino rating system to ascertain which platforms they think have a bit more quality about them, – so their reviewers are able to rank them on the same level playing field, which is explained in more detail here by https://www.casinomeister.com/rating-system-explanation/.
Although choosing an online casino will often boil down to your own choice, experts know what to look for and leverage their expertise to provide an objective look at those sites that stand out. Some review sites will use their presence or visibility to market platforms, but often, the top review sites will have an objective review that contains dozens of ratings of platforms right across the spectrum.
Licensing
Any site that operates in the UK must have the correct licensing. Ideally, it should be overseen by the UK Gambling Commission and have its registration number clearly displayed in the footer of its home page. Other common jurisdictions include:
- Malta
- Gibraltar
- Curacao
But for casinos to operate and advertise in the UK, they must also be registered and licensed by the UKGC. Often, the overseas base is for tax purposes only.
Social Media Comments
This is the most debatable point on the checklist – you only need to look at some social media comments to realise that there are a lot of people who, quite frankly, do not have a clue about the topic they claim to be experts on.
However, I would say zoom out of specific comments and try to gauge the overall vibe. While some of these reviews can be funny, the negative ones are especially not representative of the broader package the company offers, unless there are pages of them. Ask yourself:
- Are these comments overwhelmingly positive or negative?
- What’s the weighted average? Good or bad?
- Do they only focus on one aspect?
- What are the commonalities in the positive reviews?
Again, don’t take it as gospel, but it’s one element to consider alongside the others and one that I always consider when I’m trying to find a reliable casino.
Mobile Apps & Store Ratings
You can handpick some of the ratings and reviews from the iOS or Android store if you want to obtain a better grasp of whether an online casino site is reliable or not. While a mobile app is not the be-all and end-all, it speaks to a company that puts money into developing its brand.
Even as more people seek out refurbished technology and push back against the constant micro-changes to next-generation phones that seem to hit the stores every three months, app ratings and comments are still important to understand an online casino’s reliability. I’d even say that apps are vital for any business operating in the mobile-centric world of 2024.
Site Security
Any site that holds your private information needs to ensure they are doing it on a site that is as secure as possible. Depending on the casino you use, it can vary, but the industry standard is either 128-bit or 256-bit SSL encryption.
Although 256-bit is more secure, neither has been cracked, and a site will often detail in its FAQs whether it uses either of these levels of encryption. However, due to the recent emergence of highly innovative quantum computing, this window could shift between now and 2030.
Responsible Gambling
Any casino site operating in the UK must adhere to legislation detailed by the Gambling Act and ensure that it operates within the framework of the UK Gambling Commission. I’ve explored hundreds of casinos over the last decade, and it’s highly unlikely you’ll come across a page that doesn’t have a responsible gambling page containing all the tools you need to play safely.
These include:
- Cooling-off periods
- Time limits
- Deposit limits
- Signposting to some of the key problem gambling charities – such as GamCare and Gamblers Anonymous.
Summary
While I wouldn’t say you need to ensure you go through each of these points meticulously when you choose a new casino, understanding how each demonstrates a provider’s reliability will help you build a picture and know what to look for.
Out of all the points I’ve explored today, expert opinions and reviews are the most important. They are becoming some of the most sought-after sources of information anywhere in iGaming – so if you’re going to take away one piece of information from today’s article and implement it at the top of your checklist, I’d recommend seeking out as many expert reviews as you can before registering for a new provider.
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