Creating a Player’s account
Playing online usually will require a player to create an account at an online casino. Like any business, the online casino operator wants players to create an account in order to create traffic to their site, as well as to maintain contact with the player. Creating an account, doesn’t necessarily mean that real money needs to be deposited.
There are some online casinos that offer free play where by players can test out the selection of games on offer without any risk.
Of course, with no risk there is no reward. But this is a great way of experiencing what it would be like to play for real money at the online casino.
Some online casinos offer No Deposit Bonuses. These casinos provide free credit to the players account so that they can experience playing with real money. There are terms and conditions with playing with a No Deposit Bonus which include the inability to withdraw immediately. This is to prevent No Deposit Bonuses being abused by players who bonus hunt with the intention of cashing out. No Deposit Bonuses are a great way for players to experiencing gaming with real money.
Account Opening
Opening a player’s account may therefore not require a deposit. But in most circumstances an account needs to be opened online before any gaming can take place.
In doing so, a player will need to provide personal details such as name and address. Identification, in some jurisdictions, is needed to be completed upfront before play can begin, others do not require identification unless a withdrawal is made.
Identification
If you are considering to play with real money, be prepared to provide Identification.
Identification is needed by the online casino to meet compliance and regulatory requirements.
They need to be able to prove to regulators that the player has met the legal age, is not laundering monies illegally, and well as ensuring deposits and withdrawals are genuine and the player is who they say they are.
Because personal and sensitive information is passed through the internet, it is always prudent for a player to selecting an online casino that has appropriate internet security. In today’s world, cyber crime is become more and more sophisticated. Different ways are being devised to entrap unsuspecting players in revealing or stealing their details. Therefore online casinos with the best encryption and internet security are highly rated.
Deposit Methods
Losing sensitive information is not the only way that players can be exploited.
⚠️ New payment methods are constantly being created, but unfortunately not all of them are safe, secure and reliable.
As an example, you may have heard of Pay N Play, a new payment method that is for players from Finland, Sweden and Germany. It currently is a terrible payment method to use. Monies is lost between sender and receiver, it cannot be tracked, and the player has no avenue in retrieving the lost monies because the customer service is extremely poor. Pay N Play portrays the benefits as three simply clicks. It mentions that no Player account is required to be created, because Pay N Play has the ability to directly tap into the players bank account. Now this all sounds great in theory, but the fact is, the new payment method is not reliable.
It’s therefore important to consider the payment method for playing at an online casino. Payment methods that are usually high in fees are probably the more reliable. There is a a reason for high fees, and that is because more development in controls and emphasis in customer support is provided than a payment method with extremely low fees.
Bonuses
When playing for real money and signing up with an online casino, there is usually a Welcome Bonus or a Sign Up Bonus. These are bonuses that are credited to the players account. Of course, the bigger the bonuses the better for the player, and in most cases it holds true. Be aware, that Welcome Bonuses and Sign Up Bonuses come with terms and conditions. They come with Wagering Requirements in order to be met before the player can cash out their winnings. As mentioned earlier, some players are bonus hunting, and their intent is to seek out the best bonuses play to meet the Wagering Requirement and then cashing out immediately.
Obtaining Welcome Bonus or a Sign Up Bonus sometimes may require the player to enter a Bonus Code.
These bonus codes are not difficult to find. They are normally found on the online casino’s website and opening allow players to find them and use them. Why are bonus codes needed, if they are easily accessible? Well, it’s a way of having player interact with the online casinos website. The more interaction the more traffic to their website. For SEO and IT geeks, you will understand how this will influence an online casino’s ranking in Google’s eyes
Free Spins
Some sign up bonuses come in the form of free spins.
Free spins are for slot players, and therefore there is no credit assigned to the players bankroll. Free Spins also come with caveats. Should the player win on a free spin, wagering requirements are still to be met before winnings can be cashed out.
Game Selection
After signing up and making a deposit, this is where the fun begins. The player can choose from a variety of games to play. Some players are searching specifically for slots, others want to play just blackjack, some want to experience playing all the games and want to try them out.
Each player is different with their game preferences, and therefore choosing an online casino should align with the player game preference.
It’s pointless for a player who wants to play slots picking a great online casino that provides a wonderful Live Dealer experience. Conversely, a blackjack player who chooses an online casino with fantastic free spin promotion, doesn’t achieve any benefits.
It’s therefore important to ensure that the player’s game preference aligns with the gaming that an online casino provides, as well as the bonuses on offer.
Game Design and Quality
Not only game play is important, but the design and quality. Design refers to the graphics, audio and functionality. Again, some players may place emphasis on this, and are looking for state of the art graphics in HD and super smooth animation. Others may not care so much, and just want basic functionality. Quality, however is a different story.
All players should be seeking games that are of good quality.
Games that are bug free, glitch free should be sought after. There is nothing more frustrating than a game that loads slow and glitches. Of course, issues may be caused by the players internet connection and the device that the game is being played on, however finding an online casino that at least partners with a reputable gaming provider removes half of the problems.
Withdrawal Methods
Having played the games, it now comes to cashing out the winnings.
⚠️ It is not always the case that the withdrawal method is the same as the deposit method.
The reason being is that online casinos simply cannot afford to have a wide range of withdrawal methods. Each withdrawal method comes at a cost to the online casino to process, and therefore the online casinos usually keep to the reputable, tried and test big name payment methods. They too, want to avoid new payment methods that may result in monies being lost.
Customer Support
Sometimes, during the withdrawal method (and in fact in any of the process of starting to play online) the customer support of the online casino needs to be contacted.
This is where their support service will define how good the online casino is.
If the online casino is not easily accessible, the player may need to wait a long time for their issue to be resolve. This not only wastes time, but it instils a lack of faith that the online casino is acting in the best interest of the player. This is particularly true for players who want to withdraw and may lead them to perceive that the online casino is using delaying tactics to process their winnings. Customer support should not be only be accessible but their response should be prompt and helpful. Responses which are vague or incorrect, may again lead a player to think that the online casino is being unfaithful.
Onshore and Offshore
In some countries, online casinos are onshore and are regulated. Compliance is usually extremely strict in these circumstances, and therefore a strong trust can be placed with the online casino. In some countries the laws require the online casino to be based offshore. Based offshore means that the operations and the entity is created in another territory outside of the borders of where the player resides. Offshore providers can, in theory, be from anywhere. However, the offshore providers that can be trusted will be in jurisdictions that have strong regulations and will require the provider to be licensed.
Being licensed means that the online casino is required to pay a license fee, and any casino that is willing to pay a license fee means that they are serious in proving to their players that they are honest and can be trusted.
North America
United States
| CASINO | RATING | BONUS | PLAY | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
El Royale Casino
|
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
|
250% up to $12,500 Welcome Bonus |
Play Now |
| 2 | 
Bovada
|
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
|
100% up to $3,000 Welcome Bonus |
Play Now |
| 3 | 
Vegas Casino Online
|
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
|
400% up to $10,000 Welcome Bonus |
Play Now |
| 4 | 
Slots Empire
|
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
|
220% up to $12,000 Welcome Bonus |
Play Now |
| 5 | 
Red Dog Casino
|
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
|
225% up to $12,250 Welcome Bonus |
Play Now |
The United States has a complicated legal system whereby gambling laws can operate at a Federal or State level with the application of the laws dependent on the gambling nature or the operator.
All states have the ability to establish gambling laws applicable to their residents. But as is commonly known with US laws there are always exceptions. In some state Native American tribes have the ability to form a compact with either the State or Federal government which allows them to offer gambling activities. The gambling activities are tiered into:
- Class I – charitable gaming
- Class II – bingo and soft forms of gambling and
- Class III – Vegas style gaming.
With these Classes defined, tribal casinos commonly can only provide Class I and Class II gaming with Class III prohibited.
Not all Native American tribes are permitted to operate casinos. However, those that do are able to provide a great gaming experience, and generate loyal players.
Online gambling laws for each State varies.
Many have laws which neither prohibit or permit playing at online casinos. However, many do explicitly ban commercial operators from establishing an onshore online casino, and therefore many are based offshore.
We provide a review of every US State and their gambling laws, legislation and online casinos to play at by clicking here.
Canada
| RANK | CASINO | WELCOME BONUS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | $1500 + 200 Free Spins | PLAY NOW |
| 2 |  | $5000 + 80 Free Spins | PLAY NOW |
| 3 |  | $800 + 100 Free Spins | PLAY NOW |
| 4 |  | $1,000 + 200 Free Spins | PLAY NOW |
| 5 |  | $1,000 + 200 Free Spins | PLAY NOW |
Canada gambling laws could be consider in general more liberal than those of the US (as a reminder, each US State has different gambling laws and some are far more liberal than Canada).
Having said that, in general, players will find that Canada permits online gambling in many of its provinces. As such, online casinos can either be based onshore or offshore.
In the past the majority have been based offshore, however many have now moved onshore.
Payment methods allow for the use of Interac and Gigadat, and therefore to facilitate deposits and withdrawals online casinos that are based onshore can process much easier.
We provide a review of every Canadian province and their gambling laws, legislation and online casinos to play at by clicking here.
Southern Hemisphere
South Africa
South African gambling laws do not permit onshore online casinos. They also do not permit South African’s to play at online casinos, however due to the lack of law enforcement, players can play online without risk. Welcome and Sign Up bonuses are referred to as Deposit Bonuses. Unlike other countries, online casinos offer tiered match deposits that may extend up to the fifth deposit. As a result of the illegality of playing at online casinos, the major banks have been asked to not facilitate payment to and from online casinos. Again, due to the lack of enforcement and governance in South Africa, this is not always adhered to.
New Zealand
Laws do not permit online casinos to be based onshore, but are vague regarding whether players are permitted to play online. According many online casinos accept New Zealand players and are based offshore. Prohibition of playing at online casinos is not enforced, and therefore players play at online casinos with no risk.
We provide a review of New Zealand Online Casinos and their gambling laws and legislation. Click here to get started.
Asia
India
Laws in India neither prohibit or permit online gambling. Therefore there are many onshore and offshore online casinos that accept players from India. Indians love to place a bet! Often in the media, are reports of Indians winning big on gambling on cricket, badminton and other sports. Their casino scene is just as popular with many playing online casino games.
We provide a review of India Online Casinos and their gambling laws and legislation. Click here to get started.