Everybody talks about red flags at online casinos; but rarely do you hear somebody talk about the things you should be looking out for.
This is a guide to the green flags at online casinos – the things that scream ‘yes, this might be a good place to gamble’.
Licensing
We assume you’re gambling in the UK. If you are, any site offering gambling services to you legally needs to be licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, or UKGC for short. The UKGC is a government body that regulates gambling. They’re the ones that come up with all those rules. However, one of their most important jobs is ensuring that all gambling establishments, both online and offline, operate ‘above board’.
In the case of online casinos, the UKGC will keep an eye on whether the online casino is fair, whether they are handling customer complaints properly, etc. If you run into any issues with a licensed online casino, the UKGC is there to help you out. So, being licensed is a huge green flag. We wouldn’t even want to gamble somewhere that is not registered with the UKGC, mostly because that platform is operating outside of the law.
It is easy to tell whether you’re at a licensed online casino. If the platform is registered with the UK Gambling Commission, the licence information should be included on every single page, somewhere near the bottom. The number of the licence will be quoted. If you’re a bit suspicious of that number, you can always double-check that it matches up with the online casino through the UKGC website.
Good Reviews
Gamblers love to tell other gamblers when they’ve discovered an online casino that they think is good. So, always check casino reviews at places like TalkSport.com to get an idea about whether a platform is worth it. These reviews will tell you what a site brings to the table.
It is worth pointing out that every online casino, even the best in the world, will have some negative reviews on them. It happens. Casinos have issues. So, don’t be surprised if you find a few negative reviews here and there. The key is to read as many reviews as you can so that you can get a solid idea of what the online casino brings to the table, and to avoid any fake reviews. If there are more negative than positive, or those negative issues seem to go against what you want in an online casino, give the place a skip. There are tons of other places you could be gambling.
Customer Support
Any good online casino will have proper customer support in place. They’ll make it easy to get in touch with them. This is one of the requirements to receive a UKGC licence. A site needs to properly handle any customer issues.
We love websites that have live chat available, preferably 24/7. It means that we can always have a chat with the customer service team if we run into any issues with the platform. There should also be other communication channels available if needed.
If a platform hides the customer support options, or they don’t seem to have any customer support available, it is the online casino equivalent of having a massive red siren blaring ‘DON’T GAMBLE HERE’.
Site Bonuses
Casino bonuses are always a good thing, but they should rarely be the first thing you look for when gambling at an online casino. Still, decent casino bonuses can be a green flag.
Online casino bonuses do vary quite a bit. Having bonuses isn’t necessarily a green flag. It is the terms and conditions behind that bonus. All casino bonuses will have restrictions on what you can and can’t do with your earnings. So, have a look through the terms and conditions to see what is what.
Through the restrictions, you’ll notice
– Whether the bonus is limited to certain online casino games.
– What the rollover requirements are. This means how many times you need to play through any bonus winnings before can withdraw the cash from your account. Typically, this will be 45x-60x, so don’t expect to withdraw any winnings from bonuses unless you’re extremely lucky.
A ‘green flag’ will be an online casino that properly outlines the terms and conditions of the bonus. They also won’t make it seem like the bonus is too easy to obtain, i.e. they will have quite hefty rollover requirements. If a site makes it seem like they’ll just be throwing free cash at you, avoid them.
Game Selection
The game selection is also a ‘green flag’. If you’re noticing that the online casino is working with some of the bigger players in the online casino business e.g. NetEnt, Microgaming, etc. then you can trust the website. Those gaming companies only work with places they’ve properly vetted.
A good online casino will have a wide variety of games that you can dabble with.
Of course, there are other ‘green flags’ to keep an eye out for. Mobile support is a big one, for instance. However, if you stick with this list, you’ll be well on your way toward working out whether a platform is a great place to gamble or not.