Winter is here and the gloomy weather is keeping many of us indoors more than we would like. Thankfully, a trip to the casino to relieve some of those cold weather blues can be made from the comfort of our own homes. The explosion in popularity of the online gambling industry also means that there is now more choice than ever.
In order to capitalise on the rapid growth in player numbers, online casinos are constantly adding games to their libraries, and new online casinos are appearing all the time. The proliferation of new online casinos on the market can surprise players, especially when many have similar names.
Although some people only like to play with well-established online casinos, new online casinos often have the best offers and the newest technology because they are trying to attract players as they’re getting started. This makes new online casinos a great choice for players looking for a new place to start playing.
That doesn’t mean that all new online casinos are of the same quality. Just like with every industry, some new online casinos are much better than others. In order to protect players from wasting their time at a subpar site – and to avoid putting their funds at risk – it’s important to know what to look for in a new online casino.
That’s where this guide comes in. Below, we’ll give our top tips for identifying the best new online casinos.
Licenses
The first thing that you should always check before creating an account with an online casino is whether or not it is fully licensed and legal in your area. Licenses protect both you and the casino if anything goes wrong. Licenses also show that a new online casino has gone through all of the steps to prove that they are a legitimate and safe business.
Security
In recent years, we’ve all become more aware of the importance of cybersecurity and the steps that we can each take to protect ourselves online. We can only do so much, however, and we need to rely on the websites we use to do their part too.
Since online casinos handle a lot of personal and financial information, they’re an attractive target for cybercriminals. When choosing a new online casino, make sure that the site uses SSL 128-bit encryption. This is a high level of protection for your data, and the encryption can be verified by looking for the lock icon in the address bar of the site.
Games library
While all of the licensing and security stuff is obviously important, what really matters when choosing a new online casino is what games it has. The games library is what keeps players coming back for more. Slot machine games are among the most popular and since it’s so easy to create different games, the best online casinos will have hundreds of titles in their libraries. Unless a new online casino only has unique games that everyone else has, you should be looking for a large game library.
Table games are the other main draw for any casino. Blackjack, poker and roulette are the iconic table games that draw players in. There should always be a variety of each table game to choose from. It’s also important to check that they have several betting tiers. If you enjoy playing an occasional high roller hand of poker, you don’t want to be stuck at an online casino that only has low stakes tables.
Live casino games are the games of choice for people who love the traditional casino experience. These games use modern technology to make it possible for the players to interact with a real dealer. The most popular live games are the classic table games. Some casinos are now branching out and creating their own live games that are inspired by board games or game shows. If you love this kind of innovation and creativity, look for an online casino that has a variety of live games.
Bonuses
Online casinos love to reward new players for signing up by giving them welcome bonuses. New online casinos that are trying to establish a place for themselves in a crowded playing field will often give the best welcome bonuses in the first few months after they launch.
Welcome bonuses are made up of free spins, deposit matching, risk free betting and/or no deposit credit. There are two factors to consider when comparing bonuses. The first is whether or not you’ll actually use the bonus – for example, if you don’t like slot machine games, then free spins won’t do you any good.
The second factor is what the wagering requirement is. At any online casino, you won’t be able to collect any winnings made from a bonus (either spins or credit) until you’ve wagered a certain amount of money. What differs by casino is how much you have to wager and the time frame you have to make those wagers in. Always verify that it’s a realistic, achievable wagering requirement before creating an account.
