Although online casinos have been popular for quite some time – in fact, they were one of the earliest forms of gaming to be available on the internet – over the last couple of years, the popularity of online casinos and iGaming in general has increased significantly.
This has been helped, in part, by a broad sweep of regulatory changes that are taking place in various jurisdictions around the world, helping to make this form of online gaming more accessible than ever.
Ontario in Canada, for example, has recently expanded the online gaming market by refreshing regulations for the online casino and esports betting sectors – both of which will now fall under the jurisdiction of iGaming Ontario (IGO).
Changes like these have helped to make iGaming, betting and online casinos more mainstream than ever. And in response to this development, record numbers of online gambling platforms have set up shop in recent years. These include sports betting websites, sites that offer sweepstakes online casinos – as found on , live casino websites and other traditional gaming platforms.
As a result of this, consumers have more choice than ever available to them. For some, this abundance of choice is entirely positive and gives them a wide range of new and exciting options to choose from.
For others, however, the sheer volume of choice can be overwhelming. And particularly for new players just getting started for the first time, choosing an online casino to play with can be a daunting prospect.
With this issue in mind, we will briefly set out some of the main factors to consider when you are looking for a new online casino to play at. And regardless of whether you are a novice or a veteran, these factors will be equally important.
Payment methods: are they safe and secure?
Although you might be eager to get funds deposited to your account as quickly as possible, it is important to not overlook the importance of choosing an online casino that provides you with a range of safe and verified payment methods to use.
Look out for a casino that offers a wide variety of third-party payment methods, which could include credit or debit cards, traditional bank transfers, electronic wallets and even cryptocurrencies. You should also keep in mind whether or not they will charge you additional fees for deposits and withdrawals, which could potentially add up to a significant sum over the course of a few weeks or months.
Licenses and regulations: make sure they are legit!
Another incredibly important consideration is whether or not the online casino in question has been licensed by a legitimate regulatory body to provide betting services to customers.
In most jurisdictions across the world, gambling operators will have to apply for a license from a local regulator and abide by any terms and conditions they set. This ensures that the games on offer meet certain standards of fairness and that customer funds are handled in an appropriate manner.
Notable regulatory bodies to look out for include the Malta Gaming Authority and the UK Gambling Commission, for example.
Bonuses and promotions: what are the wagering requirements?
To attract new users to their platform, online casinos have become increasingly creative with the bonuses and promotions they are offering.
However, while bonuses and promotions should definitely factor into your thinking when choosing a new casino to play with – after all, there are some serious offers to be had – you should also pay close attention to any wagering requirements attached to these bonuses.
Wagering requirements can often be quite restrictive and can potentially limit how easy your winnings are to access. With that said, we would recommend choosing an online casino offering less restrictive wagering requirements rather than the one offering the biggest bonuses.
Check the reviews
Another important factor to keep in mind are what reviews the casino has received. This could include online users’ reviews, as well as professionally written commentary by casino reviewers.
When reading customer reviews online, you should always treat them with a pinch of salt. This is because it is quite common for users who run into an issue with a casino to be vocal in their criticism, which often drowns out the more moderate or positive reviews.
What do they offer?
The final factor to consider when choosing an online casino is what features they offer. This could include the variety of games available as well as other features such as VIP programs, the availability of live casino betting and even sports betting offerings.
There are many different types of casinos out there, each of which has something unique to offer. Make sure you choose one that suits your specific needs before committing any funds!