How to choose a reliable and solid online casino? – PART 1 – Licensing
Dear visitor, this is the very first article in our Online Casino Guide Series, titled: “How to choose a reliable and solid online casino?”. We’ll subdivide and publish this mega article in five different parts, one each for five weeks in a row. We have created this guide to inform online players about various important factors of the iGaming world. Part 1 kicks off with the ‘Licensing and Legality’ of online casino operators. Enjoy!
Introduction
The online casino gaming world is growing all the time. New casinos pop up so frequently these days, that it’s hard to keep track of them all. And, of course, while we all love to have choices, sometimes the mass of casinos can also bring forth some pitfalls with them. You see, they all come with differing inbuilt features. And, it’s also quite natural for different players to be attracted by different things. Maybe it’s the range of games that appeals to you the most? Or perhaps it’s finding out as much information about a casino’s gambling licence? Maybe you’ll only be impressed and join a platform if it welcomes you with a great bonus? It could also only be a winner for you if you get to utilise a wide enough selection of payment methods to fund your account. Whatever the case may be, there are multiple areas to consider when joining an online casino. That’s why we’re taking a look at all of these areas and explaining them to you in as much detail as possible. This way, you can consider all of the features that mean the most to you and find your perfect online casino. Of course, this should be quite informative for anyone who is new to the online casino world. However, experienced players may also find it to be quite enlightening too. There’s always something to learn about this exciting gaming world.
Licensing
The legality of an online casino is always something that we think should be a prime focus. After all, if it’s not legal, then it doesn’t really prompt us to want to sign up. There are many licensing authorities available, basing themselves out of several countries around the world. And it’s also possible for an online casino to hold more than one gambling licence. In fact, it’s quite compulsory in some cases, due to the fact that certain countries will only allow their citizens to register and play there if a licence is held from within. Now, many online casinos display their licensing information at the very bottom of their websites. And in the same location, you can usually find links to the licensing company websites too. Therefore, all of the relevant information relating to such is normally quite easy to find. However, it would be quite nice to know exactly what the gambling licence is for, right?
Well, as we said, the licence does ensure that the online casino is operating legally. But, it’s much more than that. A licence provides a strict set of rules and regulations that the platform should abide by. And if a casino doesn’t possess one of these, then we’d really suggest that you don’t register. After all, just imagine what a gaming company can do without actually having any rules to operate under. If you deposit your money at one such casino, then there aren’t any regulations to stop the platform from doing as they please with it. And while we’re not saying that something specifically will happen with your deposit or winnings, the potential is far greater when a casino doesn’t hold a gambling licence. So, keep in mind that a platform that holds at least one gambling licence, is far more likely to provide a safe, secure and fair gaming environment for you to play in.
Different Types of Licences
However, even though this is a basic theory, each different licensing company has its own rules by which an online gaming site can obtain a licence. Therefore, some companies hand them out a lot easier than others. For example, the Costa Rican gambling licence is one of the easiest to receive. There aren’t many conditions that a platform needs to meet in order to obtain such. And the less rules there are for it, the less secure a casino site is likely to be. Just to make it clear though, we’re not denouncing all casinos that hold a licence from Costa Rica. Far from it. However, just be wary of platforms that hold such easy and almost under-the-table licences. On the other hand, a casino that holds a licence from say the Malta Gaming Authority, or the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, is a far safer option. That’s because licensing companies such as these have extremely strict regulatory rules. And if a platform is able to adhere to such regulations, then you can pretty much guarantee that it’s a safe, fair and thoroughly monitored casino.
And as we said, some platforms do hold more than one gambling licence. This is due to certain countries needing a specific licence to legally play at platforms. For example, the previously spoken of UK Gambling Commission licence. Players from the UK are only able to access and play at an online casino if it holds this particular licence. So, it’s quite common to see a platform holding one licence from the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority for example, and a second one from the UK licensing company too. Some other countries, such as Denmark and Belgium also have their own specific licences catering to their citizens. However, even though this is the case, you’ll also find that multiple countries are covered by a single licence. So, it’s not specifically necessary for a platform to hold one of each available licence to provide games to the masses.
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We hope that you’ve enjoyed part 1! Read on for part 2, which will be about ‘Software & Games’.
Category: Tips & tricks