10 Tips for Online Casinos: Which Are the Good, the Bad and the Ugly?

There are literally thousands of online casinos. Some of them have managed to build a solid reputation through many years of fair dealing with customers. Others pop up overnight and go away just as rapidly … sometimes without fulfilling their obligations to players. Fortunately, online gaming is exceptionally well-regulated and the vast majority of online casinos are as reliable as bricks and mortar casinos. Still, it’s important to know how to sort the good, from the bad, from the very ugly when it comes to internet gambling. We give you 10 tips for sorting out which to play at and which to click far, far away from.

1. Judge a Book By Its Cover!
   They say that first impressions form 80% of our opinion about anything - person, business, car, piece of clothing … or website. A website which is not secure or is dishonest will generally look a little different to other sites. Poor design, a website which is obviously made from a template, pages which are exceptionally slow to load, bad spelling, low resolution images of safety seals … all of these can indicate an untrustworthy online casino.
2. Look for Fair Play Seals and Certificates
   There are quite a few online gambling regulatory agencies which issue ‘Safe and Fair’ certificates. eCOGRA is one of them; TST is another, iTech is another. Make sure you do background checks on whichever testing agency the online casino has used to verify the payout rates and randomness of their games.
3. Do a News Search on Your Online Casino
   If an online casino you’re considering using has been involved in any high-profile shenanigans, it would have made the news.
4. Do a Google Search with ‘Complaint’, ‘Scam’ and ‘Unfair’
   However, if the shenanigans are a little more low-profile, you should get some results by Googling to see if people are listing the casino as a scam or making complaints. However, you’ll need to look past the first ten results.
5. Call the Phone Support or Use Live Chat
   When you call the phone support or click on a Live Chat link, do you get a prompt answer? Do they speak English well? Are the staff able to fully help you? Do they give you their name? These are all trust markers.
6. Who is the Software Provider?
   Most internet casinos are proud of their software provider. If it isn’t mentioned on their website, consider it a red flag. Most our casinos use the micro gaming platform which is the largest and most popular in the world.
7. Join an Online Casino Forum
   There are several high profile and respected forums discussing online gambling issues. Join one and you’ll not only be able to see what people say about different casinos, but also be able to ask about any casinos for which it is difficult to find information.
8. Look for Padlocks and a Https
   These security symbols tell you that your financial transactions made on the online casino website are safe from all the prying eyes wandering the internet!
9. Know Your Rights and Responsibilities
   Online casinos can have very different rules to land-based casinos. It is your responsibility to make sure you understand how the rules work … and yes, this means reading that whole terms and conditions document!
10. Check Online Casino Blacklists
    Some casinos may appear legitimate, but have deceptive terms and conditions, or customer service suddenly stops responding to players, or making up new rules as they go along, or ignoring third party attempts to resolve disputes. Check the blacklists and rogue casino lists at popular online gambling forums like Casinomeister to see if the casino you’re about to sign up with is listed.