Online casinos are numerous today and, let’s be honest, they look more or less the same at first sight. It usually takes time to understand how good (or bad) a platform is. Below is a checklist that’ll help to understand this faster.
So, the checklist looks as follows:
- A generous welcome bonus
- Cool promotions
- A well-organized game collection
- Varied payment methods
- Quick and simple registration.
Now, let’s discuss each of these in more detail.
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Generous Welcome Bonus
A welcome bonus is, first and foremost, free money (okay, partially free given the wagering requirements). You naturally want it to be bigger. Besides, the bonus indicates that the casino values new players and is willing to invest in their experience. If it’s good, this is good news for the platform’s reputation.
So, what exactly to look for? Let’s look at the example of Asino casino as they’ve got one of the best welcome offers now:
- A high limit for the deposit match
That’s even more important than a match percentage. That is, a site may offer a 300% deposit match but the limit would be $500. Now, compare this to Asino with their 100% deposit match of up to $2000. That’s a whole different story.
- Reasonable wagering requirements
In Asino, you’ll need to wager the bonus 40 times. That’s standard reasonable requirements. If a site asks you to wager the bonus 50 or more times, that’s… well, too much.
- Bonus variety
It’s nice to get something else besides cash. In Asino, they give you 800 free spins (in total with your first four deposits).
2. Cool Regular and Seasonal Promotions
The welcome bonus is about how much you’ll have forenjoying yourself on a site. Promotions, in turn, are about what you can do on a site to have fun. And, of course, regular bonuses, tournaments, and events mean more opportunities to win without additional deposits.
Here’s what to look for:
- weekly reload bonuses (e.g., Weekend Reload, Friday Free Spins, etc.)
- seasonal events (Halloween, Christmas, the casino’s birthday, etc.).
- loyalty rewards (cashback, free cash, your birthday rewards, etc.).
The more cool things take place on a platform, the better.
3. Well-Organized Game Collection
Good casinos have hundreds or, most commonly, thousands of games. And so a well-structured library helps you find your favorite titles (or those that may be of interest to you) quickly. By “well-structured,” we, first and foremost, mean the one that has specific categories.
For example, a library is well-organized if, instead of the basics like slots and table games, it has sections like
- Bonus Buy Games
- Jackpot Slots
- Megaways Slots
- New Releases
- Themed Categories (e.g., Adventure, Mythology).
It doesn’t have to offer ALL of them. But it must, at least, offer some of these as well as let you search the collection by title. By the way, the good news for gamblers is that before playing games for real money, you can test any title for free in the demo mode. Check how this works in this pompeii slot machine demo. This lets you familiarize yourself with the game before you spend your money on it.
4. Varied Payment Methods
Now, this is more or less clear. The more options the site has the better because you may need to switch from one method to another and because you usually try several variants until you find what works best.
Some popular variants to look for would be
- Credit/debit cards
- E-Wallets
- Bank transfers
- Prepaid cards
- Cryptocurrencies.
Whatever you choose, check if there are SSL encryption and other security protocols. Plus, ask if there’s any commission.
5. Quick and Simple Registration Process
Ideally, the platform must only ask you to provide an email as well as the info about your country (because they may fail to serve players from certain countries). After registration, they’ll ask you to complete ID verification (all licensed sites have a KYC policy).
A top casino might offer a one-click registration where you sign up using your Facebook account, verify your email, and you’re ready to play. That’s pretty rare but certainly convenient.
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To summarize, a top casino tries to make it smooth for you and it’s also transparent. It doesn’t hide any info from you. It offers variety in everything from perks to games.