As you know, years ago I was quite content with limiting my gambling experience to poker – offline poker at that. We’re talking about late Friday Night gatherings with 3-4 friends, each of us throwing a fifty (except for the host, who had to provide the booze and food for the event and thus wasn’t required to bet) and seeing who’d come out on top for the night, all while chatting about mindless stuff and engaging in the occasional political debate. But after I got transferred and had to move, I suddenly found myself unable to play or even meet up with my friends, at least not nearly as regularly as I used to. Gambling is in my blood, though, so I knew I had to get my fix somewhere, but real casinos were a bit too expensive and posh for my taste. I considered poker sites for a bit, but after trying them out I quit soon afterwards – playing poker with faceless strangers on the Internet just isn’t for me. But I still had to gamble somewhere, so ultimately I decided to settle on online casino games. Little did I know that there were literally dozens upon dozens of sites available to me, each looking different than the last. And while I did find a couple of guides on where to start, I didn’t find any of them particularly useful. So now that I’ve been in the midst of things for a while, I thought I’d create the guide that I wish I could’ve seen back when I was starting out.
So, how do I start?
Your first job would be to find all online casinos available in your country. If you’re British or American you’re going to have a pretty wide range of choices available to you, but if you live in a smaller country, say, Bulgaria or the Netherlands, chances are there could only be a few online casinos available to you that are either native or encompassing all of Europe. There are some pretty strict legislations when it comes to international casinos, so most sites only allow citizens of certain countries to sign up. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing stopping you from using a VPN or a proxy and signing up anyway, but you’re never going to get any winnings, so what’s the point? If you live in the UK, here is a website dedicated to help you find a good online casino. If you live in another country, just use Google and I’m sure you can find a good equivalent. Now that you’ve got your list of casinos, it’s time to start cutting it down!
What are the criteria for good online casinos?
First and foremost, you’re looking for legitimacy. Non-legitimate casinos are not only not going to pay you – they might actually steal your credit card information, which I can tell you from first-hand experience is not something that’s very fun to deal with. So, how do you tell which casinos are legal and which aren’t? Well, legal ones are usually licensed with the government – that’s how they’re legal. Every country has its own licensing commission that thoroughly researches the casino before issuing it a license verifying its authenticity. In the UK, that’s done by the Gambling Commission, while in the US it’s done by the Division of Gaming Enforcement. In either case, you can look up the casino on their site to see if they’re registered, but usually each online casino will have a link to their certificate in their footer, like this:
Additionally, you might notice that some sites have an eCogra logo as well. eCogra is an independent organization that tests out the various games and determines their RTP (Return to Player) – basically, how much they pay out. In simple terms, the higher the percentage, the more likely you are to win. While all sites are tested by eCogra (or a similar organization), not all have chosen to make the information public. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but if I were you, I’d prioritize the casinos with RTPs I can clearly see.
Alright, what next?
Next… Well, that’s up to you! You should’ve shortened your list to no more than 10-15 candidates at this point, if you’re living in a country with a big casino market (and if not, chances are you only have 2-3 choices). The rest is really up to you and your personal preferences. Do you like playing slots? Go find a casino with tons of slots! Do you usually play blackjack? Prioritize a casino with good RTP for blackjack. Another factor you should weigh in is how much of a bonus the casino gives to new players. The standard is a 100% match up to a certain sum, but most casinos tend to be different in that regard. You want your bonus to be high, but not too high, as a giant bonus usually means that the casino has little else to offer that would entice you, and once you blow through the bonus amount you’d have little reason to stay. When it comes to promotions, casinos with offers for regular players and not just for new ones should definitely be prioritized. But for the most part, as I said, it’s mostly based on your own personal preference for games. So get out there and find yourself a casino!
The Cincinnati Kid