The best online casinos provide several features you can always rely on. I’ll cover those here, including game variety, excellent bonus offers, and a top notch user experience.
I’ll also cover what you need to look for when assessing which casino to sign up for. Licensing, your own preferences, and online reviews all have roles to play. Come with me as I guide you through payment options, mobile accessibility, and plenty more besides.
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What should an online casino offer its players? No doubt you’ve got a few ideas about this. I’ve compiled this guide following hours of research, and I kept coming back to the same list of features. There are eight in all, and I’ll cover them all for you here. Keep them in mind whenever you encounter a casino you’ve never seen before.
I know you’re probably eager to know more about online casino bonus opportunities, but I’ll get to those in a second. The truth is that all the best sites tend to have hundreds – and sometimes even thousands – of casino games to choose from. This means you can play something different every day – potentially for years – without ever repeating yourself.
Of course, variety will vary from one site to another, but you should be able to access the lobby or at least check the game categories before you think about joining a particular casino. Check the table here to get a sense of what you might look for.
| Game Type | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Slot game | These involve spinning reels to determine the outcome of a spin; some have bonus rounds and free spins available |
| Table game | Baccarat, roulette, and blackjack are three of the most popular versions |
| Video poker | A cross between a slot game and regular poker, so it is a good introduction to poker for those who are just starting out, as it uses the same hands to form winning outcomes |
| Scratch cards | Use your mouse or finger to ‘scratch’ and reveal what’s on the card; you usually need to match three identical symbols to win |
| Bingo and keno | These are similar, but bingo provides cards to check off, whereas in keno, you can pick which numbers you want to play with |
| Progressive jackpot games | Can fall into any game category, but they tend to involve progressive slot games with one or more jackpots increasing in value over time |
| Live casino games | Table games, game shows, and other titles can appear in a real dealer part of a casino |
You can see how exploring the game availability is the best way to see whether your favorite games are available at a specific online casino. I would steer clear of a site that didn’t provide much insight into the game collection prior to signing up.
There’s quite a range of options available in this category, but that’s the first thing I look for when comparing sites to consider which might be termed the best online casinos around. For example, I love spotting no deposit bonuses, and they are usually followed by a deposit bonus or welcome package. This could give you one of the following options:
However, not all casinos continue to provide bonuses beyond the signup point. If you want to be able to pick up bonuses in future, see if you can find any of the following at a casino you’re considering signing up for.
| Bonus Type | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Reload bonus | A bonus that is often provided once you’ve used the welcome bonus or package |
| Daily, weekly, or monthly bonuses | Given at the times stated to generate more interest in the site; some casinos give out weekday and weekend bonuses as well |
| Bonus spins | Granted for a new slot release or occasionally a seasonal slot |
| Loyalty bonuses | Specific offers for members of a loyalty club; there are usually multiple levels, so the bonuses tend to improve as you go higher |
I look for three things here:
A help center is great if you can find one because it should contain several areas of interest, including account info, game support, and banking services. It’s a bigger version of a regular FAQ page. Other than that, it’s ideal to spot a live chat facility, as this means you can chat with someone should you need some help. Incidentally, you may not be able to use the live chat facility if you’re not yet a member of the casino. This does vary though – I’ve used the service on some sites, although I’ve tended to need to give my name and email address to do so.
The best online casinos tend to provide a list of the game studios involved. This might appear – with logos for the studios – towards the bottom of the homepage. I’ve also seen scrolling lists of names, along with the option to pick the providers when looking through the lobby categories. Failing that, most reputable casinos display the provider’s name over the top of the thumbnail image for the game on offer.
Put simply, I look for a big range of providers, as this means I’ll have plenty more games to choose from. It also guarantees you will find more new titles regularly added to the site, so it serves to keep things fresh. I’ve also noticed some of these online casinos have specific offers for free spins to play on a particular provider’s games. For instance, NetEnt’s Starburst is a popular choice for such an offer.
Versatility could mean different things depending on which country you’re in. Some may not allow cryptocurrencies, for instance, whereas other sites will focus on those alone. I like to see a range of methods covering credit and debit cards, prepaid cards, online wallets, and other services. I tend to have one or two online wallets I’ll use , so I always check for those. You may have a different preference though.
This is harder to nail down, and yet I believe it is one of the most important features of any online casino. To try and cover it in the simplest way I can, it’s about being able to use a casino without getting lost, struggling to find what you are looking for, or feeling as if you can’t easily get around the site. I’m sure you know what I’m referring to. If you ever feel frustrated when exploring a casino, you’re certainly not looking at one of the best online casinos you could visit.
I try to look around a casino as much as possible before considering signing up there. While I cannot visit every area, since some are reserved for members only, I should be able to view the games, the promotions, and the help center if there is one. You can usually get a sense of whether it will be easy to move around and use the site from the moment you turn up.
This can mean one of two things nowadays:
Some nail both elements, but I’ve found it is far more likely that they’ll follow one path or the other. I prefer a mobile-friendly and responsive website over needing to download and update an app for my device. Fortunately, this appears to be the direction many modern online casino sites are heading in. When I am evaluating a site to see if it is worth visiting and signing up to, I always view it on my iPhone and iPad, just to see how good it looks on those. If it passes this early test, I know I’ll have the ability to play casino games on all the platforms available to me – including, of course, my regular computer.
This is my preferred option as a VIP program is often more limiting, only offered to high rollers on a website. A loyalty program tends to be more accessible, offering lots of ranks or levels to try and reach. Even at its most basic level though, a loyalty program allows you to collect comp points inside your account when you play with real funds. When you get enough points, you should find you can exchange them for some spins or funds you can use on your favorite games. As you reach new levels, you tend to be able to collect points more quickly too.
Of course, you do need to read the rules for an individual loyalty program, as these can vary hugely from one casino to another. It’s an area where casinos like to be innovative too, with themes and ideas beyond what you might expect to see.
All old and new casinos should provide a few basics that will help them gain a place on the list of top sites to visit. I’ve listed three crucial areas below that apply to all casinos – and they’re a good way to help you figure out whether a site might make it onto the list.
The word valid works hard there, because it’s easy for a dubious casino to use the logo of a licensing organization or to continue displaying info for an expired license. I always check this point, making sure the licensing authority does still display a valid and up-to-date license for the online casino I’m focusing on.
Look at the footer menu on a site. What do you see there? I tend to look for the following: The owner and operator name and a registered address; Licensing info; Contact info. You may not always see contact information, but if not, it should be provided in the help area or FAQ section elsewhere on the site.
Sites like TrustPilot can be relied upon to give a good overall feel of how trusted a specific casino might be. I usually read a few individual reviews along with considering the overall score. Some people may have valid issues, while others might give a low score for something that clearly points to a lack of understanding of how the site works. You’ll never find a top score overall, but this is a good way of getting a better sense of whether a site should be on the list of top casinos to play at.
Just because a casino ranks highly compared to its peers, it doesn’t mean that same casino is going to be your perfect site to play at. You need to think about what matters most to you when looking through these sites to learn more about them. I’ve compiled a few questions to ask yourself when you’re searching for a site to use.
Do you regularly use a smartphone or tablet? If that’s the case, and you’re rarely seen near a computer, you’ll need to find a casino that focuses on providing a solid mobile experience. Fortunately, most modern sites do just that.
While all casinos provide slots to play, they may not all cover other game areas. It’s rare to find casinos that don’t have any table games, but it can happen. There are other game types that don’t always appear at every casino you visit too, such as these:
As for developers, there are hundreds of those. I always choose casinos with multiple developers involved, but if you have a favorite, make sure they’re on the list of suppliers for any casino you are looking at.
Obviously, you want fast deposits and withdrawals with no fees – and that’s usually the case at all reliable casinos. However, the range of payment methods can vary widely, as we’ve seen. So, if you have a specific method you want to use – whether that is crypto, PayPal, or Visa – make sure it appears on the list at a casino before you sign up.
I hope you can see how important it is to compare different sites, so you can ignore those that aren’t trustworthy and find the ones that are. Keep in mind the various features and aspects I’ve covered here, as they’ll make it easier for you to identify the best online casinos. There are lots of them around, and this guide should make it easier to spot them.
The best sites often have a good track record and an established history. Since there are variations in each country and region, it’s best to examine the sites available for you to use where you are, to find out which of them provides the quickest and smoothest payouts.
There are hundreds of real money casinos to explore. No matter which country you are in, you are likely to have many options to choose from. The best site will often depend on what you like to see at a casino. Consider the games, bonuses, and other features you might find there, for example. These will help you decide which site to play at.
Countries that allow casino play provide licenses for operators who apply for them. Therefore, you need to determine which license to look for if you are searching for a trusted and reputable casino in your country or region.
You can find the overall RTP (return to player) percentage for a casino to see how it performs against its rival sites. The overall figure is more important as some games will go through periods of paying out a lot and then have fallow periods where this doesn’t happen.
It’s usually straightforward, although you will likely need some form of ID to prove your identity and place of residence. This is to confirm you live in a country the casino operates in. Once you have your login, make sure it’s secure and explore the site before considering making a deposit.
