When searching for a real money online casino to play slots, blackjack, craps, baccarat, roulette, poker, or any of your other favourite games, there are thousands of sites to choose from, so finding a trustworthy site that won’t let you down in 2024 can prove challenging, especially for people who have never played at online casinos before.
If you want to know more about what makes an online casino trustworthy, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s dive straight in to discover three important signs that tell you an online casino is trustworthy.
What are the three most important things to look for in a trustworthy online casino?
No matter what anybody else tells you to look for in an online casino, the three most important things to consider that will tell you just how trustworthy that site is are the following key factors:
- Licensing and regulation
- Ownership and reputation
- SSL (Secure Socket Layer) and RNG (Random Number Generator) encryption
There are many other things to consider in addition to these three important factors. However, these are the first three things every player should consider before signing up to an online casino. Let’s take a closer look at what some of this means.
Licensing and regulation
Any reputable online casino in the US will be fully licensed and regulated to operate in a state by that state’s official governing body that oversees the licensing and regulation of the iGaming industry.
For example, for an online casino to legally operate in Michigan and offer real money online gambling services to people living there, it must be licensed by the Michigan Gaming Control Board.
Similarly, for online casinos to operate in Pennsylvania, they must be licensed by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, and in New Jersey, for example, it’s the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
Should anything bad ever happen (e.g., not receiving your deposit) at an UNLICENSED online casino, you wouldn’t receive the legal backing you are entitled to as a player, which is why you should NEVER sign up to an unlicensed online casino.
The most reputable online casinos will only ever be licensed by trusted licensing authorities. World-class sites usually obtain the necessary operating licenses to serve multiple markets.
Apart from the trusted licensing authorities mentioned above, which are classed as ‘top tier’ licensing authorities, other globally renowned authorities include the Gambling Commission in Great Britain, the Malta Gaming Authority, and the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority.
An online casino operator must undergo rigorous checks and strict vetting processes to be licensed by one or more of these licensing authorities.
The same cannot be said of operators licensed by what are known as bottom-tier or rubber stamp licensing authorities. The worst casinos to be avoided at all costs, don’t forget, are unlicensed online casinos.
Ownership and reputation
Today’s most trustworthy online casinos are run by companies with excellent standing and unblemished reputations in the iGaming industry. They are transparent in their day-to-day operations and have players’ best interests in mind.
They will protect players with safer/responsible gambling tools and always provide high levels of customer service with friendly and professionally trained player support agents available 24/7.
Never sign up to a casino that’s controlled by an operator with a terrible reputation. Make sure it has positive reviews on reputable iGaming review sites like casinos.com, and you will be fine.
SSL and RNG encryption
If you stick to playing at (mid to top tier) licensed and regulated online casinos controlled by trustworthy operators, they will use SSL (128-bit or higher Secure Socket Layer) and SHA-3 Random Number Generation or similar) encryption to keep your account details and money safe at all times, and to prevent games from being tampered with.
What other signs should I be looking out for?
As long as the casino you are about to sign up to is aligned with the top 3 factors mentioned above, it should also have all of the following:
- A wide range of games (1,000 to 7,000 or more) from anywhere from 10 to 80 or more multi-award-winning online casino game development studios and software providers
- A secure cashier/banking section that accepts a wide range of trustworthy online payment solutions, including things like credit & debit cards, eWallets, mobile wallets, bank transfers, prepaid cards, and possibly cryptocurrencies
- Fair and realistic wagering requirements attached to the bonuses
- A trustworthy casino site will work equally well on smartphones, desktop computers, laptops, and tablets
- Excellent feedback from players
Instead of trying to find out all this information for yourself, don’t forget to visit casinos.com for the latest honest and unbiased reviews. You can then compare the reviews to see which site would better fit you.
The dedicated team of researchers on this website has done all the hard work for you so that you don’t have to spend hours trying to find it yourself.
Final thoughts
The important thing to remember when you find a trustworthy online casino to sign up to is to make sure you always gamble responsibly.
In other words, set a reasonable budget before you start playing, and, where possible, set win/loss limits, session time reminders, deposit limits, or whatever you think will help you stay in control of your spending to keep things fun, safe and enjoyable.
