How to Find a Great Casino

Did you know that there are over 2000 online casinos? With so much choice, how do you know which ones are any good and worth playing at? That's where I can help. I have put together a list of the important criteria that an online casino must meet to deserve merit. Most importantly, the casino must be legal, safe and fair. Next up, they must have a great game selection. That includes plenty of choice, quality graphics and fair results. Also important are the bonus offers. Where do you get the best value for money? We'll look at these criteria along with others in more detail to understand what makes a casino worthy of your custom. I'd like to start by introducing you to 3 top operators who meet all my requirements and then some. With valid licences, an exciting game portfolio and bonuses not to be sniffed at, I can whole heartedly recommend 888 Casino, Ladbrokes Casino and Mr Green.

How I Selected the Best Online Casinos

With my criteria in mind, I set about trying and testing online casinos to identify the best. But with over 2000 to choose from, that's far too many for me to play at in a lifetime! So I started by focusing my research only on the casinos which are licensed and regulated in the UK. Not surprisingly, this reduced the number significantly. I then assessed my list of casinos, and more importantly, played their games, and sorted them into order of the best. Here are the casinos which came out on top.

What Makes a Good Online Casino?

So as I have already mentioned, the most important thing I look for in an online casino is a licence from the UK Gambling Commission. But why is this so important, you may ask. Well it's about the only sure fire way that you can be certain the casino is legal, that it can be trusted, and that your experience will be safe and protected. Any online casino that offers services to UK players must, by law, possess a licence from the UKGC. An operator will have to meet strict conditions to get their licence. They need to prove the integrity and fairness of the software they use and the games they provide. They also need to display how they protect customers' personal and banking data. The UKGC also protects players against fraud and ensures that any online gambling company they regulate is crime free.

If an online casino does not possess a valid licence, then in short, you can not guarantee you will be safe. What's more, you may meet great difficulties when you try to withdraw any winnings you make. So once you have satisfied yourself that the online casino is legal and legitimate by confirming they are licensed and regulated by the UKCG, the next step is to check for the following important criteria. This will help you determine which are the genuinely good casinos that are worth playing at.

Game Selection

When deciding where to play, you should give a lot of consideration to the game selection on offer. For starters, check how many games there are. Does the casino boast a variety of games, and exciting variations of them? If you like to play live games, then check what the casino provides. For example, if you like playing live roulette, then 888 Casino's game portfolio will not disappoint. There's plenty of variations available including London Roulette, Immersive Roulette and Sports Roulette. If you're a big fan of slots, then you will be spoilt for choice at Ladbrokes casino. Their massive collection includes plenty of well known names, including the Marvel characters, and many TV and film related slots, not to mention impressive progressive jackpots. Whatever your favourite games, make sure you check out the Return to Player (RTP). You'll find the theoretical RTP in the game rules, and also the actual RTP in the payout reports published on the website. Provided the actual RTP is similar to the theoretical figure, then you can be reassured that the games are fair.

It's also important to check what software provider the casino uses. Any reputable casino will use well known and established software providers. This is important to make sure that you get a seamless experience, as substandard software can lead to lagging and crashing, which soon takes the enjoyment out of playing casino games. Also, reputable casino software providers will ensure the quality of the graphics, sound and general playability of a game. Choosing a casino with a good software provider also ensures the fairness and integrity of the games, as they invite regular testing by independent authorities. So which are the best software providers? For me, the following 4 are the best software providers to look out for.

One of the first developers of online casino software, with a huge range of unique casino games. New games are regularly added to their portfolio. The Random Number Generator (RNG) is regularly tested by Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) to guarantee the fairness of games. Payout reports are also generated by GLI, so you can see the actual winnings returned to players.

A well known and established provider of casino software, who are listed on the London stock exchange. Certified by GLI, the fairness and integrity of the games they provide is guaranteed. Ladbrokes Casino is powered by Playtech, and as such they boast an impressive collection of games available for instant play, download and mobile devices.

An innovative and reputable software provider, Net Entertainment (Netent) have won numerous awards for their state of the art software, including 4 awards at the 2014 EGR B2B awards. With the fairness of games tested and audited by iTech Labs and annual audits by the internationally accredited independent testing agency eCOGRA, the honesty and integrity of their games is certified. Netent provide the majority of games at Mr Green, giving plenty of choice of exciting games to players.

The market leading 888 Group have developed their own proprietary software called Dragonfish. This software is used to power the multi-award winning 888 Casino. They also provide their software to other operators. The software is regularly independently tested by eCOGRA to validate the fairness of games, with payout reports also produced to confirm winnings returned to players.

Bonus Offers

Pretty much every online casino will offer a welcome bonus to attract and reward new players. To find which of the new player bonuses best suits you, first of all decide how much you want to deposit. This way you can determine if you will benefit from the offer. For example, if you want to deposit £100, then you'll get the maximum bonus at 888 Casino and Mr Green, who will double your first deposit up to a maximum of £100. Mr Green will also grant a bonus on your second and third deposits. But if you want to deposit more than £100, then look out for casinos which match higher amounts on their welcome bonus. For example, Ladbrokes Casino will match your first deposit pound for pound up to a maximum of £500.

It's also incredibly important to check out the wagering requirements linked with any casino bonus. All of my top 3 have reasonable wagering requirements linked to the bonuses. However, there are many casino bonuses out there which have extremely high wagering requirements, meaning that realistically, you are very unlikely to meet the bonus conditions and therefore be unable to withdraw any winnings you make with it. For example, at 888 Casino, you need to wager your bonus amount 30 times in order to withdraw any winnings you make, and you have 90 days in which to do so. Compare this to the likes of Real Vegas Online Casino. The wagering requirements here for the first deposit bonus are a staggering 120 x the amount of the deposit AND the bonus. Let's see how that looks in real terms, if you were to deposit £100 at each casino. At Real Vegas Online, by multiplying the playthough amount (120) by the deposit and bonus (£200), you'd need to wager a massive £24000 : 120 x (100+100) = £24000. At 888 Casino, by multiplying the playthrough amount (30) by the deposit (100), you'd only need to wager £3000 : 30 x 100 = £3000. This clearly demonstrates the importance of checking the bonus terms and conditions for reasonable bonus wagering requirements.

Also important when checking out casino bonuses is the contribution of games towards the wagering requirements. It's important to know that not all games will contribute the same amount towards your playthrough requirements. In general, any money wagered on slots will count 100% towards your bonus playthrough. However games such as blackjack, roulette and baccarat will contribute significantly less, if at all. For example, the welcome bonus at Mr Green is aimed at slot fans and as such, you can only playthrough your bonus on slots. Any bets placed on other games will not contribute towards wagering requirements. Whereas this causes no issues for players who enjoy slots, it will matter if you prefer to play other casino games. Just bare in mind that if you want to play other casino games, you'd be much better off choosing a casino whose bonus includes different games in the play through conditions. If you prefer to play roulette, blackjack or casino poker, you would be much better to opt for Ladbrokes Casino, where these games all contribute 20% towards bonus playthrough.

Help and Support

Decent, competent customer support is vital in my eyes when choosing an online casino. Who knows, you may never need assistance, but it's good to know that it's there should you ever need it. I rate casinos which offer live chat. It's the quickest, simplest way of getting an answer to your question. It's also helpful if there's an option to phone, preferably free of charge. Other contact methods include an email address or a contact form. I'd recommend checking what customer support options are available before you join a casino. If a casino seems to lack this information, then it's possible you could have difficulties should you ever require help once you are a member. Ask yourself, do you want to join a casino where customer service is lacking? It doesn't give you much hope about the integrity and reliability of the casino if they are not willing to look after their players.

Although many casinos will boast that they offer customer support 24/7, I don't really consider this to be a deal breaker. As long as support is available for the bulk of the hours I am likely to be playing, then that's sufficient for me. For example, Mr Green's live chat and telephone helpline is available between 6am and midnight. This suits me just fine, it's not likely I'd be playing in the early hours of the morning. Even if I did need help during those times, then there is an email contact form available, so a customer support agent can contact you back.

Payment Options

There's plenty of choice available when it comes to funding your online casino account. Any decent casino will accept payments from major credit and debit cards. But what if you don't want to use a card? In that case, it's always worth checking out what other payment methods a casino accepts. Many casinos, including my 3 top choices accept deposits using PayPal. There are also other options available, such as NETeller and Skrill, along with pre-pay vouchers and cards such as Ukash and Paysafecard. Make sure you consider any charges involved. Any decent casino will not charge you fees for making a deposit, but the company you choose to make your payment through may impose some kind of fee for the service. Make sure you familiarise yourself with the fees so you don't have any nasty surprises.

Once you've confirmed that you can deposit using your preferred payment method, it's also just as important to look into the withdrawal process. The amount of time it takes for you to request a withdrawal and for it to be credited varies depending on the casino, and on the payment method you used to credit your account. One of the fastest withdrawal times I have seen is at Mr Green. Here, all withdrawal requests are reviewed within 24 hours. After that time, cash outs to e-wallets will be credited immediately, with bank and cards usually credited between 1-3 days. Avoid casinos with lengthy withdrawal times. After all, who wants to wait weeks to get their hands on their winnings?

Variety of Promotions

Another thing I check out when assessing a casino is the promotions they offer. After all, promos can provide plenty of entertainment and excitement along with the chances to win some interesting prizes. A good casino will offer a variety of promotions giving players plenty of choice. Look out for re-load bonuses. Once you've benefited from the initial welcome bonus, it's always great to be rewarded when you make future deposits. Whether this is in the form of a cash bonus or free spins for particular games, we all like to get value for money. These types of promos will give you the opportunity to boost your winnings. 888 Casino excel here with daily deals where you can boost your balance. You can take your pick from free play, free cash, free spins and bonuses, with a different offer to choose from for every day of the week. Ladbrokes Casino also feature a daily bonus calendar. You can see at a glance what offers are available for each day of the week, with something to benefit from every day.

Also look out for special promotions with top prizes up for grabs. For example, Mr Green ran a recent promotion where they gave away 20 iPhone 6's during cash drop competitions. Also, they have given away some amazing holidays as part of their promo prizes. Such promotions have seen players awarded with raffle tickets for every pound they deposited, and lucky players were drawn winning luxury holidays to Dubai and New York. As a specialist in slots, they regularly run promotions based around a particular slot game. For example, they have previously given away a dream holiday to the Hawaiian island of Kauai, where Jurassic Park was filmed, with raffle tickets awarded simply for playing the Jurassic Park slot.

Help with Problem Gambling

Any trustworthy casino will take their social responsibilities seriously. Therefore, it is worth looking out for verification that the casino recognises problem gambling, and offers help and advice to their members. These will include offering options for players to set limits on how much they can gamble, and also offering the possibility to self exclude for a certain period of time. There are various organisations which aim to raise awareness of gambling addiction and offer help and support for those affected. Such organisations include Gamcare and Gamble Aware. Any reputable casino will promote such organisations on their site to provide guidance for any players who are experiencing problems with their gambling habits, or for friends and family who may be concerned about someone else's gambling. Look out for their logos on the casino's website, it will help confirm the integrity of the casino.

A Summary of How to Choose a Good Casino

You will find that there are many sites available giving recommendations of the best casinos. Don't always take these at face value. Many are affiliates promoting casinos, who quite simply want a cut of your money. The casinos they recommend may not actually have much to offer you. As we've seen in this article, there are various criteria you can use yourself to help identify a great casino. Always start by checking for a valid licence. Since the changes to gambling regulation laws in the UK since November 2014, there are a lot of casinos which are no longer available for UK players. This is no bad thing. By selecting a casino with a licence from the UK Gambling Commission, you can be sure they have undergone strict regulation to be able to offer services to UK players. Why take the risk of playing at a site that has not met the strict criteria set by the regulatory body?

Next, take into consideration the various criteria I have explained in this article. Look at the game selection, are there plenty of exciting games, running on reliable software, with fair chances of winning? Also check out the bonuses on offer, choose one that best suits your needs, with fair wagering requirements. The customer support a casino provides acts as a reassurance that the casino will help you when you need it. Don't forget to look at the payment options a casino provides – do they support your preferred banking method and are withdrawals fast and easy? Have a look at the types of promotions the casino offers, do they provide exciting promos that will keep your gaming experience interesting? And finally, make sure the casino recognises and provides support with problem gambling. All these factors combined will ensure you choose a reputable casino, where you will find hours of entertainment in a safe and secure environment.