How to Find an Honest Online Casino
The most important step in choosing the right online casino is to find one that has a reputation for honesty and fairness. With hundreds of online casinos all vying for your attention with flashy ads and vague promises, it can be a daunting task. Just do a Google search for "online casino" and you'll see what I mean.
The good news is that most online casinos understand how vital honesty is to success. On top of that, this article presents a very simple but effective set of criteria for selecting your casino. We've also got a list of online casino reviews to help you in your quest.
Name Recognition - Is the Online Casino a Well Known Brand?
The first thing you want to look for in a casino is name recognition. Big name online casinos didn't get to be so popular by pulling shady moves on their customers. The owners of these big casinos know how utterly stupid it would be to kill a goose that lays golden eggs.
Time of Existence - How Long Has The Casino Been In The Industry?
Second, you'll want to look for casinos that have been around for a long time. On the internet, "long time" is a relative term but it would serve you the best to stick with casinos that have been around for at least five years. Some online casinos have been around even longer, with the oldest of them having started in the mid-90s.
Online casinos that have survived for more than five years have proven themselves to be at least trustworthy enough to attract enough customers to stay in business for half a decade. This also shows the casino is profitable and is therefore highly unlikely to suddenly collapse or disappear.
Industry Certifications for Online Casinos
Once you've found a couple casinos that fit this description, take a look at their websites for independent certifications. Every single online casino should have a seal of approval from Technical Systems Testing (TST). TST is an industry recognized casino and lottery auditing company. If you do a thorough search through the website and can't locate a TST Certification, don't even waste your time.
The Kahnawake Gaming Commission provides permits to online casinos that meet certain guidelines for honesty and fairness. If you see the Kahnawake logo on a casino homepage, that should be a plus in your mind. To verify the legitimacy of the logo, you can view a list of every casino that's been granted the Kahnawake Gaming Commission permit here: http://www.kahnawake.com/gamingcommission/permits.asp.
eCOGRA is an independent organization that grants its seal of approval to online casinos that meet their standards in fair gaming, player protection and responsible operator conduct. Casino sites displaying this seal are considered to be in good standing with eCOGRA. You can double check the validity of a website's logo at http://www.ecogra.org.
Trust Your Gut Feeling Before Making That Deposit
If something about the site just feels "off" or you get that bad feeling in your gut right before you click "submit" on your deposit, take a second to rethink everything. Even if the online video slots are appealing, use your guy instinct to decide if this is the best place for you. Our minds are pretty good at warning us when something isn't quite adding up - even if we aren't consciously aware of it. Now if you're naturally paranoid, well, that might be a different story. But most of the time your gut is the most trustworthy seal of approval.
